Like To Stay in Heaven But The Rules Are Too Tough
by pelagia911
Summary: After Castiel walks into the Sioux Falls water supply, Dean doesn't walk away. He goes back to save his friend, but in doing so Castiel will be changed forever. God has bigger plans for the angel after Dean's rescue. The leviathans are loose and Sam remembers all of his time in Hell. They make the choices they find best, but sometimes they end up hurting the ones they love most.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a long story that follows Season 7 really closely. I started this right after the beginning of "Hello, Cruel World" and took off with an alternate season. It is a complete story, but it will take me a while to get all the chapters up here and I'm editing it as I upload so I don't know how often I'll update chapters. Obviously, many spoilers for all of Season 7.

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Dean ran down the dirt path, following the black ooze that Cas had left behind as the leviathans walked off with his body. Sam and Bobby were following close behind. They caught sight of Cas just in time to see him submerge himself into the water. Dean let out a quiet gasp. _No, Cas you can't leave now_. The water then swirled into a whirlpool and black swarmed the waters as the leviathans spread out through the water supply of Sioux Falls.

"Ah, Hell." Bobby sighed.

"Dammit." Dean didn't believe it. Everything in his body told him to run out into the water and drag Cas back, but with the leviathans in the water that didn't seem like a smart idea.

"You said it. Those, whatever you call 'ems…"

"Leviathan." Sam supplied.

"Right, if they're in the pipes they got themselves a highway to anywhere."

Dean knows Bobby had been talking but all he could think about was Cas. He couldn't just leave him out there. He felt like he needed to say something when Bobby had stopped talking, "Awesome." His eyes looked out over the water again, waiting for Cas to pop back up when something caught his eye. His insides clenched at the sight of Cas' trenchcoat floating near the shore. He bent down and picked the soaked coat from the water.

Dean felt the ice cold shot of dread pierce his heart. His breath was shaky, "Okay," he glanced at Bobby, "so he's gone." The words sounded wrong to his ears. Cas couldn't be gone. He was never really gone.

"Yeah," Bobby shook his head slightly, "rest in peace. If that's in the cards."

Dean bit his lip in an attempt to keep back the lump forming in his throat that threatened to break him. He folded the coat with the delicate touch and care that the last remaining item of a close friend deserved. "Dumb son of a bitch." Dean's lips trembled as he spoke. The tears were definitely forming now and he wanted nothing more than to sit on the edge of the water and bury his face in Cas's coat and wait for him to return. He gripped the coat with his hand and pushed everything down. He couldn't cry, he wouldn't scream, he would push it all away and try to forget.

"He was friends with us wasn't he? You can't get much dumber than that." Dean looked up at Bobby. "Come on," Bobby reached out and put a hand on Dean's arm, "those things will be coming up for air soon."

Bobby turned to leave and Sam started after him and sent a sad glance back to Dean who was staring at the coat and holding it tight. Sam stopped, "Dean."

Dean shook his head. He couldn't leave. After everything Cas and he had been through, he couldn't leave him. He looked up at his brother, who seemed to see what he was thinking. "I can't." Dean shoved the coat at his brother and turned to run for the water that had swallowed his friend. He heard Sam shout his name but he didn't care. He would go after Cas, even if it meant his death.

Sam and Bobby ran to the water's edge with wide eyes. "Dean! Come back!" Sam was about to jump after him when Bobby grabbed his arm.

"Sam, don't make me lose all of you at once." Bobby pleaded with Sam. He was pretty sure Dean probably just signed his death warrant and he would be damned if he lost Sam too.

Dean had run out into the water as far as he could before diving under. He knew the leviathan were everywhere in the water and he had probably just killed himself, but then at least he would be with Cas. It was hard to see very far as Dean frantically searched for his friend. He could hear Sam's calls when he surfaced for air, but he wouldn't turn back now. He could feel his arms getting tired, having been injured when the leviathan threw him around. He dove under again knowing he would be too tired to surface again too many more times.

When he had almost lost all hope, a pale hand came into view seeming to reach for him. Dean grabbed it tight and pulled, soon Cas's head came into view. The black hair waved in the water as Dean pulled the unconscious man into his arms and swam for the surface, lack of oxygen burning his lungs. He broke through the surface and gasped for breath. He fought hard to stay afloat with Cas's body threatening to pull him back under. With every last bit of strength he had, Dean managed to get close enough to shore to be pulled out by Sam's strong grip. Bobby dragged Cas out of Dean's hold. Both boys were laid on the ground.

"Dean, you okay?" Sam crouched beside his brother and patted his arm.

"Yeah," Dean coughed, "I'm fine." He pushed Sam's arm off and turned onto his hands and knees. He saw Bobby checking Cas for a pulse or breath. He quickly crawled over to the suit-clad man. "Cas." He put a hand on his head, he felt so cold.

Dean looked at Bobby who shook his head lightly. Dean felt that lump in his throat again. He looked back at Cas and willed him to be alive. It couldn't end like this, it couldn't. Suddenly Cas's eyes snapped open and water shot out of Cas's mouth in a cough. Dean felt his heart leap. Cas turned to his side and coughed up the water he had swallowed.

Dean smiled and looked up at his surprised brother and a shocked Bobby. He put a hand on Cas's shoulder. "Cas, you okay?"

Cas nodded and turned onto his back. His eyes were searching the sky. He looked confused.

Dean let out a nervous laugh. "It's good to have you back, Cas." Cas looked at Dean with a sad look.

"Is it really just you, Cas?" Bobby sounded nervous.

"Bobby." Dean was happy to have Cas, why did Bobby have to bring this up.

"We need to know, Dean. One of those leviathans could be in him still."

Dean looked back to Cas. Cas shook his head and closed his eyes, "No, it's just me. The leviathan left into the water." Cas coughed lightly. "I don't know why I'm still intact."

"It doesn't matter. Let's get out of here." Dean took Cas's hand and was about to stand when Cas cried out and threw Dean back. He stumbled back a few feet and watched in horror as Cas's body lit up with blue light.

Sam and Bobby ran back and joined Dean as Cas arched off the ground, his mouth open wide in a scream. Terror froze the three watching. All of them had to overt there eyes as the blue light started to burn. Cas's back lifted off the ground and his outstretched arms raised up as light shot out of his eyes and mouth.

Then as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Cas fell silent and the light disappeared. Dean opened his eyes to see Cas lying motionless, staring up blankly. "Cas." Dean ran over and knelt beside Cas. The wide blue eyes didn't move. "Cas, dammit." Dean grabbed his suit jacket and shook him. "Come on." Cas moved like a rag doll in his hands. Dean cursed the world, cursed at everything for giving him that ray of hope and crushing it, again.

Cas gasped and looked around frantically. His breathing quickened and he groaned in pain. He took hold of Dean's arm and gave him a look of pure desperation. "What was that, Cas?" Tears filled Cas' eyes, he pulled Dean closer. "What just happened?" Dean put a hand on Cas' forehead in an attempt to calm him.

A few sobs escaped Cas before he could answer. "God."

"God?" Sam stepped up behind Dean. "How do you know?"

Cas laid his head back. "He told me." His grip loosened. "He's punishing me." He closed his eyes and tears fell down his cheeks.

"Punishing you? How?"

"He took my grace as punishment for all I did against him." Cas' hands fell from Dean's arm. "I deserve nothing less." He turned his head away from Dean.

"So you're…" Dean swallowed, "human?" Cas nodded and let out a pained sigh. Dean may not have liked Cas getting a demotion like that, but he was grateful that Cas was still alive. "Okay, we can work with that." Cas was still facing away from them and hadn't moved. Dean moved up to a crouching position and reached out a hand. "We need to go, Cas."

"Then go."

"Not without you." Dean waited a moment before taking hold of Cas's arm. Cas pushed him off and landed back on the ground.

"Just leave me."

"No." Dean stood straight and defiant. "I didn't jump into leviathan infested waters just to leave you on the ground." Dean put a hand out again.

Cas looked at Dean, "No one asked you to save me. I should have died."

"Not on my watch." Dean bent down and forcibly lifted Cas to his feet.

Bobby headed the boys off with Dean dragging Cas and Sam right behind. Sam stopped beside the trenchcoat he had dropped when Dean had jumped into the water. "Cas," Dean stopped and turned around with Cas stopping beside him, "your coat." Sam pointed to the fallen coat.

Cas gave a tired look to the dirty clothing. "Leave it. It doesn't matter." He turned before Sam could respond and walked on with a slow defeated pace. Dean looked at the coat he had always associated with the angel. Maybe it didn't matter anymore. Castiel the angel was gone. Dean turned to follow Cas, leaving behind what he knew he would never get back.


	2. Chapter 2

Once they had returned to Bobby's, Dean had changed out of his soaked clothes and encouraged Cas to do the same. Since Cas didn't have any other clothes, Dean let him wear a pair of his jeans and one of his T-shirts. They were a little big on him. Sam had insisted that he was tired and fallen asleep on Bobby's couch. Dean walked to Bobby's kitchen and found him cleaning the cut on his cheek.

"How are you, Bobby?" Dean settled against the counter.

"I've been better." He wiped the dried blood from his face. He tapped his arm. "How's your arm?"

Dean moved his sore arm that had taken the brunt of being thrown around. "I'll live."

"You had me worried there for a minute." Dean sighed. "I mean it. I mean, what the hell were you thinking running into that water like that?"

"Bobby…"

"No really, did you even have the slightest idea that Cas would have been alive?"

"I don't know, I just knew I had to at least try."

"Or die tryin'?" Dean looked at the floor. Bobby picked up a beer for him and handed Dean one. "Just take it easy, okay? I got a feeling that Cas is gonna' need a lot of help adjusting and of course there's Sam."

"Yeah, I'm honestly more worried about Sam right now. Cas can be taught, Sam…" Dean took a drink and shook his head. He didn't want to imagine what Hell flashbacks were doing to him. "I'll let him sleep for a while first though."

"Yeah, speakin' of which I think I'll head up for a little sleep too."

"Okay. Sleep tight, princess."

"Shut up," Bobby started off for the doorway, "make sure you sleep a little too you hear?"

Dean raised his bottle and nodded. He took a few more drinks before walking out to the living room and looking at his sleeping brother. His face was calm in sleep but Dean knew he had to be suffering so much underneath.

He continued on and up the stairs to the spare room he had left Cas in earlier. He knocked lightly before slowly pushing the door open. Cas was sitting on the bed with the covers wrapped around him with a troubled look on his face. Dean set his drink on a small table by the bed and sat on the edge of the bed. Cas didn't move or look at Dean.

"You doin' okay?" Cas didn't respond in any way. "You need anything?" Cas looked Dean in the eye now before shaking his head slightly.  
"Okay, what's with the covers?" He pointed to the cocoon Cas had made for himself.

"I was cold." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Oh," Dean bit his lip, wanting to say more but not knowing what he should say. "Let me know if you need anything. Everyone is asleep, but I'll be around." Dean stood and turned toward the door.

"You should sleep too, Dean."

Dean turned back and smiled, "Nah, I'll be fine. I slept yesterday." Cas gave him a concerned look. "So, I'll let you sleep."

"I'm not tired, Dean." Cas sat up straighter and Dean stopped in his attempt to leave the room.

"Okay." Dean stood awkwardly shifting his feet. They stayed silent a moment, the silence almost feeling louder than speech. "So, why is he doing this to you, Cas?"

"God?"

"Yeah, and don't say punishment," Dean took his seat back on the bed, "what did he actually say to you?"

Cas shifted in the covers. "He said that I would be stripped of my grace in punishment for everything I did against him and the world."

"Huh, okay." Dean looked confused.

"Dean," Cas pulled the covers tighter against himself, "I claimed to be God, I killed in his name, I released the leviathan on the world. I actually claimed to be better than God, an offense worse than falling."

"Well, it's not like he gave you that much choice. How long has he been nonexistent in Heaven?"

Cas shook his head. "I still did what I did. Good intentions or not, I'm responsible for the leviathans being loose. It's all my fault."

"Yeah, it is." Dean nodded. "If you had just listened to me when I told you to stop…"

"I know." Cas cut him off. He seemed to deflate under the covers. "I'm sorry, Dean."

"But still, it's not like you knew this would happen right?" Cas stared at the covers. "You were doing what you thought was best. Believe me," Dean leaned forward a little, "we've all been there."

"Except when you or Sam or Bobby worked with evil, you tended to save people and make something better. What have I done? I may have single-handedly destroyed the world. God has killed for so much less."

"And of course there's Sam." Dean felt a little anger rise as he thought of his brother suffering. Dean looked to find Cas watching him with sad eyes much like when he was about to return the souls to Purgatory. "Don't think I'll ever forget that."

Cas felt his heart knot. "I don't expect you to. I'm sorry. I truly intended to repair what I had done, but…"

"I know," his voice was louder than he meant, "you couldn't control it." Dean stood, the anger filling him now. "When all the monster souls were telling you that you were God, you didn't give a crap about Sam."

"I'm sorry."

"STOP APOLOGIZING!" Dean took a shaky breath. "I know you're sorry. I know you would change what happened, but you know what? You can't. So why don't you stop talking about it and stop saying you're sorry."

Cas dipped his head and closed his eyes in an attempt to hold back the tears he felt forming. His breathed hitched a few times, "You should have just left me, Dean. Let me die in that water as a human, like God had intended."

"What are you talking about?" Dean felt his anger lessen a little at Cas's broken voice.

"God was always going to make me human after what I did. Had you left or come after me a minute later, I would have drowned."

"Don't you think God knew I would come for you?"

Cas shook his head. "I don't think he believed you would."

"Well," Dean smirked, "good to know he's losing faith in me."

They both fell silent again for a few moments. Dean could hear Cas sniffing lightly and really hoped he hadn't made his newly-human friend cry on his first night. Cas then wiped a covered hand over his face and said with only a slightly shaky voice, "Since I'm human now, do you think there's a chance," Cas looked up with wide eyes that sparkled in the light coming through the window, "for forgiveness?"

Looking in those eyes, Dean wanted nothing more than to say yes but the image of his brother passing out and being tortured from Hell made him clench his jaw. "Maybe with God." The 'not with me' part was implied and not missed by the fallen angel who's lip quivered and eyes teared up.

Cas nodded and bit his shaking lip. He couldn't really ask for much more than that from Dean. He would take what he could get. A cold chill ran up his back and he pulled the covers closer and laid down on his side, silently letting Dean know he was done talking. Dean took the hint and left Cas to sleep. His first night of human sleep were filled with dreams of leviathans, a screaming, tortured Sam, and Dean chastising him for every mistake he had made. He did not sleep well.

Cas's eyes opened to bright sun light shining through the large windows on the wall opposite him. He covered his sore eyes with a hand tossed the covers down to his feet. His night had been restless and stressful, nightmares never letting him rest. He glanced at the clock beside the bed that read 3:13. With a sigh, he threw his feet over the side of the bed and stood to face his first full day as a human.  
Cas made his way down the stairs and heard Dean's raised voice in the living room.

"I mean seriously, how do you argue with that?" Cas moved closer to the doorway and stayed out of sight.

"I know, it's a problem." Sam, he must be tired by how his voice sounded. Cas can't imagine he slept much better than Cas last night.

"Because as he puts it, you can't torture someone who has nothing left for you to take away." That was Lucifer without a doubt. If Sam was seeing Lucifer, he had bigger problems than he had originally thought.

"Okay fine, but this Malibu dream mansion that he makes for you to take away is this post apocalyptic mess?" There was a silence and Cas considered entering the room when Dean spoke again. "Wait, are you seeing him right now?" Another pause. "You know that he's not real right?"

Cas holds his breath. If Sam couldn't keep a grip on reality, he was really going to have a hard time. "He says the same thing about you." Cas closed his eyes and felt so much regret. Sam had a long way to go if Lucifer still had so much influence over him. He hoped Dean could be patient with him.

"I'm goin' back to work." Bobby's voice made Cas jump. He hadn't realized the other man had been so close to him. Cas quickly pressed against the wall and remained out of Bobby's eyesight as he stepped through the door way and out the back. Cas heard a few hushed words from Dean before a low grumbling in his stomach drew him toward the kitchen.

Cas shuffled his bare feet toward the refrigerator and realized that he had no idea what he would eat or even want. The only food he had ever consumed was burgers and alcohol. At the thought of burgers, his stomach growled a little louder. He sighed and opened the fridge to find a supply of beer and odd things he hoped were for spells of some kind. He shut the door with another sigh, but jumped when he saw Sam standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Cas." He gave a small wave and smile. "How you feeling?"

Cas shrugged. "Fine." He shifted his feet. "Hungry."

Sam huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, we don't have much right now." He took a few steps into the kitchen. "Pretty sure Dean is making a run later. Here," Sam held out a small bar he had been holding, "take this. I'm not that hungry."

Cas took the offering with a small nod of thanks. He looked over the packaged food before ripping the wrapping open. Sam was watching him and running a finger over the bandage on his hand. "Cas, I wanted to tell you something." Cas waited expectantly as Sam messed with his bandage for a few seconds. Sam looked up, "I can't imagine what this must all be like for you. After everything you've already been through," he tilted his head and gave him a sad look, "I just wanted to let you know that I'm not angry. I think I understand why you did what you did and I don't like it obviously but," Sam stopped and fidgeted with his hands again a little before stepping a little closer to Cas, "I forgive you." He reached out and laid a hand on Cas' shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze.

Cas felt a wave of relief flood him and his body relaxed a little. "Thank you, Sam."

Sam nodded and patted his shoulder before grabbing a beer out of the fridge and going back to the living room.

With Sam's urging Dean had gone out on a supply run while Sam and Bobby spent their time searching for anything that could be leviathan related. Cas had asked to help but he had been told to 'take it easy' whatever that meant. He spent the afternoon looking through Bobby's books. Bobby and Sam had apparently found something with a swim team they were talking in hushed tones when Dean came through the door with a couple paper bags in his arms. He absently set a bottle of water on the desk Cas was reading at before dropping the bags in the kitchen. Sam and Bobby filled him in on what they had found.

Cas stood against the door frame and heard Sam talking, "It's a lead, Dean."

"Alright, but if you think you're going out on a hunt…"

"I know, I'm not. You are." Cas took a few drinks of his water as they agreed to let Bobby watch Sam and Dean left for Kansas. He hadn't been surprised when they had left him out of the option of going with Dean. Usually he would have been the one to make sure he was safe and on task, but now he didn't factor into their plans at all.

Later that night Bobby had gotten a call from Sheriff Mills and had left to get her out of the hospital that seemed to be having a monster problem. Sam had told Bobby to go and not to worry. "Cas will look after me right?" He gave Cas a friendly slap on the back. Cas smiled. Bobby seemed okay with it and left the boys alone.

Cas had been watching some kind of medical drama with mild interest when he heard Sam talking in the kitchen. He walked in to see him on his phone. He hadn't remembered hearing it ring. Sam hung up, "That was Dean. He thinks the leviathans might have been involved with the swim team thing." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's heading back now." Cas nodded. Sam looked around and rubbed his eyes, he looked so tired. "It's getting late, why don't you go rest. Dean and I are gonna be working so…"

"I'm not that tired. I did sleep into the afternoon after all. I can wait up, maybe I could help you?"

"Don't worry about it, Cas. Just go relax."

It was then that Cas understood. They didn't want his help anymore. Maybe they didn't think he could help anymore, but Sam was trying to break it gently and make it sound like they cared about his well being. "Okay, I'll be upstairs if you need me." Cas grabbed a book on his way to the stairs and settled in to read until he felt the need to sleep.

Cas had started to drift off when Sam knocked on the door. Cas jerked awake as Sam popped his head in, "Hey, Dean and I are gonna check out some possible leviathans that Dean followed here. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"You sure?" Cas picked up the book that had been launched to the floor in his fitful wake up.

"Yeah, we got it." With a wave, Sam closed the door and left. Cas set the book aside and stood up to stretch his sore joints. His bare feet slid across the cold floor to the window, he didn't see the Impala, but maybe he had just missed them.

It wasn't twenty minutes later when Cas heard Dean's voice calling from downstairs. He was calling Sam's name. Cas went out to the staircase. Dean was at the bottom.

"Where's Sam?" He started up the steps.

Cas tilted his head. "What, he left with you not twenty minutes ago."

Dean rushed up to the top of the stairs, "What?"

"You called earlier."

"Yeah, but I haven't been back 'till now."

Cas shook his head. "No, Sam said…"

Dean's eyes widened in fear. "Did you actually see me or did he just say I was here?"

Cas opened his mouth but froze. He had never actually seen Dean. He read as much in his face. Now anger took over his face.

"Damn, Cas! All you had to do was keep him here." Dean dug for his phone in his pocket. "You had one job." He opened the phone and turned on the GPS he had activated on Sam's phone earlier. His anger filled eyes met Cas' again. "Really Cas, how hard is it to keep one guy who is losing his mind from leaving the house with his hallucination? That's all I needed you to do." The growl in his voice sent a shiver of fear and disappointment through Cas. He had failed again. "Just," Dean turned while looking at the map where Sam was, "stay here. Can you handle that?"

Cas nodded as Dean stomped down the stairs and screeched out of Bobby's driveway. He really couldn't do anything right anymore could he? Seems like he would always fail those around him. With those thoughts circling, Cas found himself wandering out into Bobby's junk yard the cool night air numbing him slightly to everything else. When his feet had stepped on one too many rocks, he found a mostly put together car and sat in the back seat. He laid back and closed his eyes, drifting off without realizing it.

Something was burning. The smell broke him from his sleep and when he opened his eyes he saw black smoke pouring into the air from the rear window of the car. With a gasp he sat up and looked to see Bobby's house burning into high yellow flames. Terror gripped him as he scrambled to leave the car, but he froze when a figure walked around the corner of his vision. It was a man he didn't recognize who was watching the fire with an evil smile. Cas crouched down in the seat and kept still. He heard the man laugh a few times before footsteps faded away and signaled his exit. Cas peaked out the back window to make sure he was gone. The house was destroyed. Cas hoped Bobby hadn't come back yet.

He must have drifted off again because the next thing he knew the flames had died out and a voice was calling out through the air. He soon recognized Sam's voice calling for Bobby. Cas pulled himself out of the back seat. "Sam."

Sam was only a few feet away from the car and rushed to Cas's side. "Cas, thank God." Sam smiled in genuine relief. "Is Bobby here?"

"I don't know. I didn't see him."

Sam nodded. "Okay." He looked off to the right. "Dean!" With a call of Sam's name, Dean came running to the others. He sighed when he saw Cas.

"Cas, I thought you were…" Dean looked at the house and back to him. "What happened?"

"I don't know. After you left, I came out here and must have fallen asleep. When I woke up the house was on fire."

The three stood silent a moment, reeling from what had happened. They all quietly prayed for Bobby's safety. Light footsteps snapped them out of their thoughts. The man Cas had seen earlier appeared from behind a few cars.

"Winchesters and," he eyed Cas, "you angel, well not anymore I see." He laughed lightly. "Congratulations, you all managed to survive. I'm impressed."

Quicker than he thought possible, Dean pointed his rifle at the man's face and fired. The shot rang out in the cold night and the man bent over from the blast, black ooze shooting from his face. It was a leviathan. So the gunshot was ineffective. The leviathan flashed his monstrous face.

Dean ran forward and threw a punch. The leviathan easily blocked it and grabbed Dean by his jacket and threw him into the windshield of the nearest car. He landed with a crash and rolled off the car with a crack that sounded bad. "Dean!" Cas shouted and rushed for the leviathan, all his angel instincts kicking in but with none of the power. The leviathan grabbed his wrist in an iron grip and twisted his arm into an unnatural position. Cas screamed out in pain he had never felt before. The monster gave an extra pull that snapped Cas' arm almost completely from his shoulder before pushing him aside.

Sam ran in next and managed a hit to the face before looking back to his brother who had hands on a control to drop a car hanging in the air above the leviathan. "Dean, now!" Sam shouted seconds before the leviathan landed a hit with a pipe across Sam's face. Sam landed like a stone. The car landed with a crash and crushed the leviathan, black ooze flooded out from under the car.

Dean pulled himself over to his brother. "Sammy."

Cas pushed himself onto his feet, holding his left arm close to his body. Pain shot through him and made him feel lightheaded. "Sam." Cas fell to his knees beside Sam.

"Come on, I'm the one with the broken leg you gotta carry me." Dean was pulling Sam's jacket in an attempt to wake him. He looked up at Cas. "You have to get us to the car."

"How?" Cas pointed to his useless arm. "Even if I managed to drag you both to the car, I can't drive, Dean."

Dean grunted in pain and frustration. He took his phone out and dialed 911.

When the paramedics arrived, Sam was taken away quickly while Cas and Dean were in a separate ambulance. After a few minutes Dean overheard one of the paramedics talk into his radio, "Alright, we're pulling into Sioux Falls now."

"Sioux Falls? Sioux Falls General?" Dean was trying to sit up before being pushed back by another paramedic.

"Yeah."

"No, no you gotta take us somewhere else, anywhere else." Dean sounded panicked.

Cas remembered Bobby having been called there for a monster problem. "Please, any other hospital would be better."

"Sure, whatever you say." From his voice, they both knew he wasn't taking them seriously. They shared a look of fear and knowing before the ambulance doors opened and they were pulled to their separate rooms.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean opened his eyes and felt like his brain was mush. He vaguely remembered being in a hospital and something about Sam. He sat up and tried to shake the haze off. Throwing the covers off, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and moved to stand. His right leg slid out from under him and he landed on the floor with a hard thump. "What the…" Dean then noticed the cast covering most of his right leg.

The door to his room opened and a suited Bobby slipped in quickly, closing the door behind him. Dean looked up in shock. "Bobby?"

The older man looked down. "Why are you on the floor?"

"I thought you were dead."

"Well I ain't." Bobby stepped up and leaned down to help Dean back onto the bed. Once there, he started shutting the blinds in the room. "We gotta run. This place ain't safe."

The door opened again, making both men jump. Cas stepped through wearing Dean's clothes from the day before but his arm was in a cast and sling. He shut the door quickly and nodded to Bobby. Dean felt a wave of relief at seeing Cas. "We have to hurry, they're moving Sam now."

"Okay, I'll get Sam. You two get to the ambulance entrance." Bobby handed Dean his clothes and exited.

"How am I supposed to go anywhere?" He pointed to his cast while pulling out his jeans that had been cut open.

Cas shrugged before be spotted a pair of crutches behind him. He handed them over to Dean, "Here, these will help."

"Thanks." Dean grumbled as he took the crutches and tried to slide his pants on. After a few struggling seconds, he let out an irritated sigh.

Cas grabbed the pants from Dean, "Let me help you." Cas knelt in front of Dean and held out one leg with his good arm. With a little struggling, the two of them managed to get his pants on. The shirt and jacket weren't a problem.

Dean threw his hospital gown on the bed and reluctantly positioned his crutches under his arms and looked at Cas, who was standing by the door. Cas nodded and cracked the door open. When it was clear, he opened the door fully and they started down the hallway. Dean was actually proud of how fast he could move on his crutches. Cas was jogging beside him to keep up. Soon they were both busting out the doors.

"Dean." Cas pointed to a couple employees who looked like they were on a mission to get someone.

"Come on." Dean took off towards the ambulance with Cas following right behind. The two in scrubs saw them and started after them calling out.

They reached the ambulance and Cas opened the door and jumped in beside a relieved Bobby. He turned and grabbed Dean's crutches and tossed them into the back beside an unconscious Sam. He then took hold of Dean's outstretched arm and pulled him into the passenger seat. "Go, go, go."

Bobby kicked the vehicle into gear and screeched out of the hospital parking lot. The three men let out a collective sigh.

Three weeks had passed with the four of them hiding out in one of Rufus' old hide outs in Montana. Dean and Cas still had their casts to deal with, which made them both a little cranky or extremely friendly depending on how recently they had taken their pain killers. Sam had been recovering and seemed to be doing well, physically at least.

They were all currently in the living room, Dean and Cas on the couch watching some Spanish soap opera, Sam at the table reading, and Bobby drinking some coffee, pretending not to be watching the television. The topic of leviathans had been discussed as well as Sam's mental state. Dean was still worried and convinced that Sam was much worse than he let on, but Bobby had seemed optimistic.

"Every last bit of info I ever had burned down," they had wanted to figure out some way they could fight the leviathans.

"What about Rufus, you think he left anything? Did you check the basement?" Dean hoped there was something that could help.

"C-rations and dust. I don't think he'd been here in years." Bobby sighed. "So, I gotta go round up my old library."

"I thought you said most of those books were one of a kind?"

"Yeah, that's why I stashed copies all over the place." Sam and Dean smiled.

"Hey," Dean glanced at Sam, "two-legs, we're fresh out of grub. Want to make a run?"

Sam nodded, "Sure yeah." He stood and caught the keys Dean tossed him.

"Be careful with her would ya?" Sam laughed. "Oh, and Sam," Sam stopped and turned back to Dean, "pie."

"Obviously." Sam smiled and left.

Bobby laughed and finished his coffee. "Well," he stood and walked over to the sink, "I think I'll head out and start trying to find my library." He rinsed his cup out before setting it beside the sink. "You two take it easy okay."

"Sure thing." Dean waved as Bobby walked out the door. Dean and Cas were left alone with the soap opera now strangely loud in the open cabin. Dean looked at Cas who was sitting on the end of the couch watching the TV with a glazed expression. He could tell how much he hated watching this show, but he never said a word. Deciding to take some pity on him, Dean turned off the TV.

Cas blinked a few times at the loss of video. He looked over at Dean watching him. They hadn't spoken much in the past weeks and Cas was starting to feel like he would never be as close to Dean as he had been before.

"How you doin', Cas?"

"Fine." He absently rubbed the cast on his arm as he spoke. The aching pain in his shoulder made him wince.

Dean nodded. Cas was still wearing his clothing, shopping seemed like something they could put off, and Dean had to smile at how different Cas seemed now than a month ago. He must have been staring though, because Cas gave him a weird look and shifted uncomfortably.

"I think I need to ice my shoulder again." Cas stood and went to retrieve ice. Dean had been staring at him in a way that made him itch. He wouldn't say that he hated it, but it was strange. He wrapped some ice in a cloth and held it against his left shoulder. The cold made him suck in a breath through his teeth. There was another long pause as neither one of them spoke. It seemed they never talked much without Bobby or Sam around. Sometimes the silence was comfortable but other times, like now, it was awkward.

Dean cleared his throat and moved on the couch a little. With a glance back he said, "Anything you wanna watch?" he pointed to the TV.

"No." Cas shifted the ice pack a little. Dean nodded and fell silent again. "Is it always this annoying, Dean?" Dean looked back. "Being injured?"

Dean smiled. "Not always." He lifted himself up a little to turn more toward Cas. "We don't actually break bones too often, surprisingly. Other cuts and bruises don't take too long to get over."

Cas nodded and felt another wave of aching pain shoot up his arm. He let out a breath and tried to ignore it.

"Of course," Dean reached for the table in front of him, "these help." He held up his bottle of pain killers.

Cas shook his head. "I don't like taking those actually."

"Really?"

"I don't like how they make me feel. Like I can't think straight." He felt his hand go numb from the ice. "I would rather feel pain than the nothing I get with those."

Dean frowned. That was surprising considering the flashbacks Dean was getting to the 2014 future he had seen. Cas was already looking more like his counterpart with the loose clothing, messier hair, and a light stubble that was forming on his face. If he could pick anything for his Cas to leave out, he was glad it was the drug addiction. "That's okay I guess. They are prescribed though, so don't feel bad if you think you need some."

"I know."

Dean turned to face away from Cas again and knocked the TV remote which went sliding under the table by the couch. "Oh, man." Dean tried to lean forward to reach it, but couldn't reach anywhere near without falling of the couch. Stupid cast.

Cas laughed quietly to himself at Dean's struggle. After watching him a few seconds, Cas dropped his ice pack on the counter and walked over to help. He bent down to find the small remote. He located it and knelt down to reach under the small table. Using his good arm, he pulled the remote out and turned to Dean with an amused smile.

Dean reached a hand out, "My hero."

Cas moved forward on his knees and handed the remote over. "What would you do without me?"

"Lose my freakin' mind." Dean took the remote and put it securely under his left arm on the couch. Cas chuckled and remained kneeling by the couch. He was watching Dean with a strange look on his face. "What?"

Cas snapped like he had been daydreaming. His eyes fell to the couch and he licked his lips. This kept happening between them, along with the awkward silences, they would find one of them staring at the other for no apparent reason before the other one made them stop. Cas had no idea why, he hoped Dean would have explained but Dean seemed to ignore it. Cas's eyes looked back up to Dean's face.

Feeling like some kind of fish in a bowl, Dean picked up the remote and turned the TV on again. And because the universe loves him so much, that just happened to be the moment an overdramatic, stereotypical soap sex scene was on. Cas looked back with mild interest before Dean turned a little red and turned it back off.

There was a small stirring inside of Cas as he looked back at Dean. He had a strange urge to be closer. He was confused. Dean had done nothing to bring it on. Without realizing it, Cas had moved closer and rested a hand on the couch. Dean looked at the hand but made no move to say anything. Cas wasn't even that sure what he was doing.

Unsure of what exactly Cas was doing, Dean sat still and tried to ignore the stare that felt like it was burning into his skin. After having a few weeks to calm down slightly about everything that had been happening, Dean had started trying to get Cas accustomed to being human. Seems like he still needed some personal space lessons. "Cas?" Cas titled his head a little. "Personal space?"

Then, suddenly understanding what he wanted to do, Cas pushed himself on his hand and met Dean's lips in a kiss. Dean's back stiffened and his eyes were wide in shock. Cas pressed his mouth against his but didn't do much else. After a few long seconds, Cas pulled back.

Dean's heart was pounding in his ears. He would be lying if he said he never wanted to do that, but he hadn't expected Cas to initiate it. Dean's unresponsiveness seemed to make Cas lose confidence in what he had done as he started moving back and moving to stand. "Cas, wait." Dean reached out and took hold of Cas' good arm.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I don't know why I did that." He sounded panicked.

"It's okay." Dean pulled him back to kneel again. "Just…" Dean didn't know what to say. He wasn't mad, far from it actually, but he hadn't been expecting something like this. He decided to go with what he knew best. "If you're gonna kiss someone," Dean brought a hand up to Cas' shirt collar, "you need to do it a little better than that." He pulled Cas forward by his shirt and smashed their lips together in a much more heated kiss. Dean's heart flipped and he lined their heads up to kiss Cas deeper.

Cas kissed back eagerly. Having watched a lot of TV the last few weeks and that one porn a while back, Cas knew what a kiss should be like. He brought his free hand to Dean's face and pulled him closer. Dean's hands held his shirt tight while also running through the hair on the back of his head. Pleasure shot through Cas, making him forget about the constant pain in his arm and causing him to push on Dean harder.

His head hit the back of the couch as Cas pushed into him and seemed almost at the point of climbing onto the couch. Dean slid both hands through Cas' hair and bit lightly at his lips before pulling his head back. Both men caught their breath, foreheads touching. Cas gently ran his hand down the side of Dean's face as if admiring a work of art before abruptly pushing away and standing up.

Without a word, Cas moved away from the couch, grabbing his ice pack as he past and moved up the stairs to his room. Leaving Dean confused and hot on the couch. Dean looked up the stairs as the door to Cas's room shut with a click. What the Hell was that? Dean sat trying to figure it out for a few minutes. When it was obvious Cas wasn't coming back down, he turned the TV back on.

Sam showed up ten minutes later with food. But his brother once again failed to bring him pie. No Sam, cake is nowhere near the same thing. He fell asleep that night with a half-eaten cake slice on the table and TV on, Sam reading the paper by the counter.

Dean woke up to a slap on the arm by Cas sometime the next morning. He looked around feeling groggy and disoriented. He wiped at his eyes and tried to clear his mind. "Did you eat my cake?" Dean pointed to the spot where it had been.

Cas shook his head. "No, I put it in the fridge. I figured you didn't want it to get gross."

"You can have it." Dean yawned widely. "I asked for pie. Is it that hard to get one damn piece of pie?" He said the words without any real anger, more tired irritation.

Cas laughed lightly as he put a few cups away after drying all night. "Where is Sam by the way?"

"What?"

"I haven't seen him yet and the Impala is gone."

"Excuse me?" Dean sat up straight. He was awake now. A piece of paper caught his eye. He reached over to the table and picked up the small note. It read 'Be back in a few days. I'm fine.' "Dammit, Sam."

"What?" Cas stopped stocking and turned around. Dean held out the paper. Cas walked over and read it. He sighed and gave Dean a knowing look.

Dean took out his phone and called Bobby. After a short argument, Dean seemed to agree with what Bobby had said, but he stood up and took out a crutch. "Yeah, screw that." Dean hobbled around the couch.

"What are you doing?" Cas rushed over in case Dean lost his balance.

"I'm not gonna just sit here while Sam is out doing whatever he's doing, which could be being tortured by Lucifer." Dean pushed off Cas's supporting hands.

"Dean," he was moving passed Cas with determination, "we don't know what Sam is doing. He says he's fine."

"Oh, yeah," Dean stopped to turn back to Cas, "like when he said I was at Bobby's." The accusation came out clear.

Cas closed his eyes. He did have a point. "Okay, but can you wait a few days for your cast to come off?"

Dean rolled his eyes in exasperation. "A few days?" Dean huffed and turned back and made his way into a back room. "In a few days," he called from the back, "Sam could have completely lost it." Dean reappeared. "I'm finding him today." He lifted up a small circular saw.

"What's that for?"

"Well," Dean moved passed Cas and around the couch, "I'm not waiting a few days to get this taken off, and neither one of us can drive in our current conditions." Dean propped his leg up on the couch.

Cas realized what the saw was for. "Dean, you can't be serious."

"Oh, I am." The saw sparked to life. "You're goin' down."

Cas watched with scared eyes as Dean sawed through his cast. It cracked and popped before falling to the ground. Both of them sighed in relief.

"That feels so much better." Dean ran a hand over his now exposed leg. He set his foot on the ground but wobbled unsteadily.

"Take it easy." Cas moved to Dean's side and put a hand on his arm. "You haven't used that leg in weeks."

"I'm fine." Dean shrugged Cas off. "I just gotta get used to it again." He cautiously took a few steps and felt his underused muscles working again. "I think I'm gonna just take a shower first and change. Then we're gonna find Sam."

Cas sighed. "Dean, you should really rest your leg. I'm sure Sam is fine."

"No, Cas I can't just sit here. Are you coming or not?"

With another sigh, Cas ran a hand through his hair. "Of course I'm coming."

Dean nodded. "Good. Just give me 15 minutes." He walked off to shower and change, leaving Cas standing by the couch wondering what to do with Dean's cast.

Fifteen minutes later they had left to walk back to town to find out where Sam could have gone. They asked the guy at the general store Sam had gone to get food. There they guessed that Sam was working a job nearby that had made the papers. After Dean hotwired a car, they drove into town to follow Sam's steps. It took them the rest of the day to find out what Sam was hunting and where he was staying.

They were waiting in his room when he unlocked the door. Dean met him in the doorway with a punch to the face. After a heated discussion, Sam told them that he had let her go.

"It was my mess." Sam was sitting at the small table, holding a cold can to his face as a make shift ice pack.

"And you call letting her go cleaning it up?" Dean was leaning on the foot board of the bed. Cas was across from him, leaning on the counter.

"She killed her own mom, to save me."

"I hear you Sam, I do, but look at her now. She's dropping bodies man, which means we gotta drop her. It's that simple."

Sam shook his head. "Nothing in our lives is simple."

Dean stood up from the bed. "Look man, I get it. You meet someone, you feel that spark," he glanced over at Cas for a split second and remembered the kiss they had shared the day before, he had almost forgotten about it, "there's nothing better." He looked back to Sam who had been staring at the floor. "But this freak." He felt how wrong that had come out as soon as he said it. Cas shifted uncomfortably against the counter.

Sam slammed his can on the table and grabbed his coat, anger clear on his face. He stood up and walked by both of them.

"I didn't mean…"

"Yeah you did." Sam stopped next to the far bed, Dean turned to face him. "I see the way you look at me, Dean. Like I'm a grenade and you're waiting for me to go off."

"Sam."

Sam looked at Dean. "I'm not going off. I might be a freak but that's not the same as dangerous."

Cas looked down at his feet, feeling like he was eavesdropping on a private family talk. He didn't know if he should say anything or even be there.

"I didn't say…" Dean moved toward Sam.

Sam lifted his hands, "It's okay, say it." They shared a look for a moment. "I've spent a lot of my life trying to be normal, but come on I'm not normal. Look at all the crap I've done, look at me now, I'm a grade A freak. But I'm managing it, and so is Amy."

Cas did move now, he sat down at the small table and tried to let the brothers have their time. In the past he would have probably offered something to help with Amy, but now he had nothing to give. He couldn't see everything in the black and white distinction he had as an angel. Shades of grey were popping up more and more.

"Look you don't trust her, fine. Trust me, please."

Cas looked up to see Sam giving Dean what he had learned was the puppy dog eyes. Dean let out a sigh. "Okay."

Sam looked suspicious. "Seriously?"

"Gotta start sometime right?" Dean glanced back to Cas before turning back around. "Why don't we just stay here tonight? We can head out tomorrow." Sam nodded.

One hour later, Sam was sleeping while Dean was on his computer and Cas was laying in the open bed trying to relax. His sleeping pattern had been thrown off a lot lately, his body never quite knew when it should be tired. Right now he was wide awake. He looked at the small digital clock beside the bed, it read 2:30. He sat up.

Dean looked up from the computer for a second, the bluish light giving his eyes a slight blue look to them. His eyes looked back to the screen. "Can't sleep?"

"No." Cas scooted the end of the bed and stood up. He walked over to the table and sat across from Dean.

"You wanna use this?" Dean pushed the computer towards him.

Cas lifted a hand up. "No, I'm fine." Dean nodded and shut it down and closed it. "I wanted to ask you something."

Dean leaned back in the chair. "Okay, what's up?"

Cas shifted nervously. "Are we gonna talk about what happened yesterday?"

Dean shrugged. "Do we have to?"

"I don't know, Dean. I've never…" Dean seemed to always forget how new Cas was to being human and dealing with all the problems that came with it.

"I don't see a real need to talk about it much." Dean stood and opened their small cooler for a beer. He watched Cas' brows furrow as he struggled with something. "Why did you do it anyway?"

Cas bit his lip and shrugged. "I don't know. I just," he looked around the room like he thought the answer would be somewhere in eye range, "it felt like it was the right thing to do." He made a face like he tasted something sour. "That doesn't make any sense does it?"

"I don't live in your head." Dean took another drink. So Cas had really wanted to kiss him, but what actually bothered him was how quickly he left. "So, you felt a need to kiss me and then bolt when I returned it?" Dean walked toward a now scared Cas.

"I didn't know how to react, Dean." Cas sounded like a kid who had been caught in a lie by their parent.

Dean placed his beer on the table and looked down at Cas. "Well, a good way to react would have been to stay downstairs right where you were." Dean reached out and laid a hand on Cas's shirt collar. "And then, we could see where it would have gone from there." He took hold of Cas's shirt and pulled him up into a rough kiss.

Cas let out a surprised noise that was muffled by Dean's mouth. He brought up his free hand and held Dean's head close. Dean wrapped an arm around his waist and pressed him against his hard body. They felt sparks going through them. Cas moaned quietly against Dean, who nipped lightly at Cas's bottom lip.

They broke apart to catch their breath. Cas was shaking. "Dean, I…"

"Shh, just relax, Cas." Dean whispered against his lips. "I got you." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Cas's again.

They stayed that way for a while. Two bodies wrapped together, kissing and whispering until Dean wanted to move to the bed. "Dean, Sam is right there." Cas looked at the sleeping form, expecting him to sit up and tell them to knock it off.

"I know." Dean felt a little shot of excitement go through him at the thought of possibly being caught. "Don't worry, I don't think trying anything too physical would be easy with this thing," Dean grabbed Cas' casted arm, "still on. Just come here." Dean slid off his boots and sat on the bed, pulling Cas along with him.

"Dean."

"Just…" Dean pulled his good arm a little harder, giving him no choice but to follow Dean. He laid on his back and pulled Cas up to lay against him. After maneuvering around Cas's bad arm, Dean had his head on Cas's right shoulder. His arm fell around Cas's slim waist and held him close. Cas brought his hand up to play in Dean's hair.

It didn't take long for both of them to fall asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning the three of them were driving to a new motel in Spokane. If Sam noticed how his brother and Cas had been sleeping, he didn't say anything about it. Sam pulled up to the motel. "Why don't you two check us in," Dean took out an almost empty prescription bottle, "I gotta hit the candy store. Doctor's orders."  
Sam put the Impala in park and climbed out the door. Cas exited the back seat as Dean slid over to the driver's seat. Sam and Cas walked to the front desk as Dean pulled away.

Over an hour later, Dean knocked on the door to their room. He came in with a bag of food for them. "Jeez Dean, I was starting to think you got lost."

"Yeah, the stupid pharmacy took forever to get my stuff." Dean seemed a little off. He didn't look at Sam at all.

Cas had had a knot in his stomach after the first half hour Dean was gone. He knows Dean said he would trust Sam with the Amy issue, but he also knew the issues Dean had with trust. He also knew that asking Dean about it directly wouldn't get him anything helpful. Cas didn't think Dean would ever admit it or tell him about it, but Cas had a feeling he knew exactly what Dean had done. He just hoped Sam wouldn't find out anytime soon.


	4. Chapter 4

For a few days Dean and Cas had tried to be discrete and wait for Sam to be gone or asleep before they would do anything or before they would curl up together and sleep. They did this until one day they were talking in low voices leaning into each other while Sam was on his laptop. "Guys, seriously," Sam looked up at them, "if you think you're hiding anything, it's not working." He smiled. "You don't have to sneak around. As long as I don't see anything that I'll need brain bleach for I don't really care, okay?"

That night they all slept soundly. Early that morning Cas woke up wrapped tight in Dean's arms. His cast had been removed and he didn't think he would be so grateful for something again. Cas shifted contently and laced his fingers through Dean's.

Dean held Cas tighter and nuzzled against the back of his head. He kissed his neck lightly and Cas let out a sigh. Dean pressed closer and kissed him again. Cas mumbled quietly and pushed back. Dean ran his teeth across the shell of Cas's ear, earning him a shiver.  
Cas turned his head to press a kiss to Dean's lips. "Morning."

"Hey, Cas." He kissed Cas again. His left hand ran along Cas's side to rest on his hip. He kissed his neck and rubbed Cas's hip, digging his nails in making Cas moan and move against him. Dean slid is hand under Cas's thin pajama pants and wrapped it around him.  
Cas let out a noise that was a little louder than was safe without waking up Sam. He and Dean had never really gone quite this far yet. He was surprised by the action, but he couldn't restrain the noises coming out of his throat.

"Shh." Dean moved is hand slowly and rested his head on Cas's shoulder. Cas let out another moan, pressing against Dean and thrusting into his hand. "Cas." Dean brought his free hand up and covered Cas's mouth. "Gotta be quiet, okay?" His covered mouth seemed to have the opposite result, as Cas became louder.

Cas was pressed so close to Dean he could feel his heart racing against his back. Cas was overwhelmed with the pleasure pulsing through him. He pushed his head back against Dean's shoulder and moaned into his hand.

Dean's breath hitched. "Dammit, Cas," his hand sped up, "this won't last long if you keep being so loud." Cas arched against Dean and closed his eyes. "Cas, give me your hand." Dean shifted behind him a little to give him room. He let his hand fall to Cas's throat.

Cas moved his left hand to reach for Dean. He gave Dean a questioning look.

"Just do what I'm doing, Cas."

He let his hand move slowly to the front of Dean's boxers. He traced Dean's erection with his finger. Dean grunted and pumped Cas a little harder. Cas flattened his hand and palmed Dean lightly.

"Ugh, you're such a tease." Dean bit Cas's neck. He let out a loud, surprised noise.

Cas slid his hand into Dean's boxers and matched his actions and pace. Soon they were both approaching their climax. When Cas was still loud enough to make Dean nervous, he clamped his hand back over his mouth. Cas seemed to enjoy it.

"God," Dean felt his insides clenching and sweat was forming down his back, "if you're this loud now, I can only imagine how loud you would be if I let you." Cas hummed against his hand.

After a few more strokes, both men's bodies tightened up and released, each other's names on their lips.

Over the next few weeks, they had managed to never wake or upset Sam and they hoped to keep it that way. They were getting bolder with when and were they did anything though. Which is how they ended up how they were now.

They were in bed covered with the sheets but naked from the waist down. Cas was riding Dean in a punishing pace bracing himself against the wall. Dean was trying to keep it together and was doing a horrible job. It seems Cas had learned how to control his volume while Dean was now incapable of controlling his voice. Who could blame him right now?

"Fuck, Cas." Dean grabbed the other man's hips and pulled up to meet his every thrust.

Cas was watching Dean with black, lust filled eyes. He leaned against the wall a little more and pushed down on Dean faster.

Dean's back arched off the bed and he let out a choked sound in the back of his throat. He shut his eyes tight. It was too much. Everything swelled within him. He couldn't look at Cas without feeling too much. A warm hand wormed under his shirt and made his muscles twitch. He bit his lip and willed the scream he felt in this throat away, but failed when the warm fingers curled and scraped across his chest. Dean grabbed Cas's shirt and pulled his face close.

Sam stirred in the bed next to them and both men froze. Dean's heart slowed slightly and Sam stilled. Cas's hot breath warmed his cheek. He pulled him in for a heated kiss, urging Cas to start moving with his hands. Cas did move again, but at a much slower pace. His hips moved and rotated in an almost teasing manner.

"Cas, please." Dean whispered against his lips. "I can't…"

Cas shushed him before kissing his neck and licking up the side of his neck and whispering into his ear. "Relax, Dean. I'll take care of you." He sat back up and started speeding up. Dean's mouth fell open in a silent gasp. "Look at me, Dean." Cas growled.

Dean's eyes immediately opened. He let out a whimper at the sight of Cas bouncing and staring at Dean like he was the hottest thing he had ever seen. Dean thrusted up into Cas and took him by surprise, earning him a slight moan. Cas clenched around him and speed up more, the bed starting to creak with every move. Dean felt his orgasm right there and in reach when Cas suddenly slowed down again, slamming his orgasm to a stop. "Dammit, Cas come on." He grabbed his hips again and tried to move him, Cas just chuckled.

"Not yet, Dean." Cas leaned down and kissed Dean in a sloppy kiss. Dean bit his lip in frustration. Cas growled and grabbed Dean's hair and pulled his head back. He kissed Dean's exposed throat. "I want to hear you scream, Dean." Dean let out a shaky breath. "I don't care who hears." Cas let him go and started up again making Dean arch up and moan loudly.

"Cas, please." Dean couldn't even think anymore. All he knew was the pounding in his head and the pleasure making his toes curl. "Fuck, Cas."

Cas put both hands on the wall and moved with all he had. He loved making Dean completely come apart like he was now. His head dropped and he felt his end nearing.

Dean was practically chanting Cas's name and 'fuck' now. No other words seemed to come to mind. He could see Cas losing it now and he wanted to help him along and took hold of Cas's hard, leaking cock and started jacking him in time to his own moves. Cas moaned and clenched his jaw.

It didn't take long to them to both be hit with their climaxes and Dean yelled out Cas's name a lot louder than he intended. Cas curled into him and moaned. "God, Cas." Dean held him close. "I'm so gonna get you back for this." Cas chuckled. He growled, "I'll make you scream so loud the whole motel will hear you."

Cas shivered at the thought. "We'll see."

Sam's tired sleep-filled voice made them both freeze, "If you two just did what I think you did, I will kill both of you in your sleep."

They were still tangled together but Cas managed to slip off Dean and curl around him like he had been there all night. Dean quickly pulled the covers tight up around them.

Sam turned a groggy head around to see what his brother and friend were doing. He furrowed his brows at the sight of them seeming to be asleep. Maybe he had been dreaming. He shook his head and turned back around and quickly fell back asleep. Dean had dodged death tonight.

Cas and Dean laughed quietly at Sam's ignorance of what had really just happened. Cas held Dean close and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning the two of them woke to find Sam gone with a note telling them he had gone out for a run. After some grumbling from Dean about Lance Armstrong, they had taken a shower that probably took a little longer than was needed.

Cas was now relaxing on the bed watching TV while Dean was looking for possible cases in the area and drinking his way through a bottle of scotch. Cas was starting to worry at the amount Dean was drinking recently. He had found a few weird deaths and told Sam about them when he got back. The three of them set out to find out what was going on.

Turns out there was a witch couple in town. They were having a tiff that had deadly results for the local people. When they had found a spell that would kill them, they set out to rid the town of the fighting couple. Unfortunately, the spell had not gone according to plan. They stood with a surprised look as the two witches stood unaffected.

"Let me guess, chicken feet? Not chilled." Wife witch smiled.

Before they could say anything, the Starks were chanting off a spell to kill the three men.

"Okay, plan B." Sam shifted nervously.

"What's plan B?"

"Talking."

"What?" Cas was all for getting out now.

"Now, really?" Dean sounded on board with Cas's idea of running.

"This is obviously a domestic dispute so if we can't kill them, counsel them."

"Yeah, you know what? Not my area."

"I can't exactly help much either." Cas grabbed Dean's sleeve and pulled him back, wanting to go out the door.

When they had run out of time, Dean stepped forward, "Okay, okay. Look, obviously you two are capable of wiping each other out, right?" The witches looked confused. "But you haven't," Dean looked back for some help, "which means that you two, you value whatever it is you got and you want to keep that dance going." Dean looked back again and got a reassuring nod from Sam. "Maybe it's punishment, maybe it's sick, messed up, erotic, kinky, clamps and feathers kind of love…" Cas felt his face turn red and Sam jumped forward.

"Okay, okay that's," Sam pushed Dean back a little bit, "that's goin a little too deep there cowboy." Dean stepped back and looked at the floor.

Cas stood by Dean and lightly touched his arm to let him know he was there. Dean looked back for a moment.

"You're defending him?!" Maggie sent Sam flying back with the wave of her arm.

Dean held up his arms. "Look nobody can defend Don," He got a glare for that one, "totally. But, we get that you feel betrayed, because you were." Maggie nodded. Don rolled his eyes.

"Don't suck up to her." Don sent Dean crashing through the entry door. Cas ran to check on him. He helped him stand as Maggie fought with Don.

Sam stood up, "Look, I don't think Don was lying when he said he regrets the whole Wendy thing."

"Thing?" Maggie looked pissed. "Sit down." Sam slammed to the floor grunting in pain. Cas entered the room as Maggie was shouting about 1492. "The man was about to set sail! He could possibly fall off the edge of the earth! I took pity."

"You had sex with Christopher Columbus?" Cas still had a knack for picking bad times to chime in.

Maggie's head whipped around. "Mind your own business." She sent Cas flying back into an unexpecting Sam. Sam grunted and pushed Cas off.

"Jenny? Nothing happened with Jenny. She was just my assistant."

Dean was leaning against the doorway. "He's right. She told us, just the assistant." Maggie sent him falling back to his previous position.

"I made a mistake. I'm sorry, Maggie." Maggie visibly softened.

Sam stood up and pulled Cas up with him. "See, you guys are talking. That's all you needed to do."

Dean had gotten back up as well. "And I would have missed the nuking that my melon just took, but who wants that?" He was once again sent flying and Don summoned a small hive of bees around his face.

The Starks soon made up and let the boys go. Dean's bee stings were at a minimum, but he complained enough about them during the drive back to the motel.

"Well that wasn't anything I expected." Dean tossed his bag on the bed and pulled out his flask he had taken to keeping in his jacket. Sam and Cas shared a look that Dean didn't miss. "Give me a break."

"We didn't say anything." Sam was taking off his jacket. Cas stood quietly beside Sam.

"It's been a long day." Dean put the flask back and looked through his bag.

"And it's not over yet." An unfamiliar voice sounded behind them. Dean turned with his gun ready to fire. Sam did the same. Cas turned with a bad feeling he already knew who it was. "Hi Sam, Dean, Cas."

Cas tilted his head. "Do we know you?"

"I definitely know you. You're the dead guys, or are about to be." The man stepped forward and a shot rang out from Dean's gun. The man barely blinked. Black ooze dripped out of the wound before the bullet fell out of it. "Sorry, you're a bit outmatched." The man advanced again.

Cas moved forward to stand in front of Dean. The man threw a punch that tossed Cas back onto the bed behind him. Dean shot again, which just pissed the guy off. He ripped the gun from Dean's hands and threw him back to land beside Cas.

Sam lunged at him and was soon in a choke hold gasping for breath. Suddenly the man lit up and fell limp as if electrocuted. Don walked through the door with a horrified look on his face. "Good God, what is that thing?"

Cas sat up, "Leviathan."

"A what?"

"Don't worry," Dean slid off the bed and checked to make sure the guy was out, "we're working on it."

Don didn't look impressed. "Yeah, I feel safe now." The sarcasm was clear as he tiptoed around the fallen man. "Find a bottomless pit to drop that thing in. That spell only lasts a few days." He moved passed Dean and started rummaging through the mattresses of Sam's bed.

"Uh," Sam turned to Don, "what are you even doing here?"

"Saving lives, twice." He pulled out one of Maggie's hex coins. "Got it."

"Maggie, seriously?" Don moved over to Dean's bed.

"We just saved your damn marriage." Dean didn't appreciate someone trying to kill him after he helped them.

"Yeah," Don found the other coin and stood up, "but to be fair you also tried to kill her. You know how she is when she gets a bug up her ass."

Don left with a wave. Sam and Dean shared an exasperated look. Cas stood and looked at the unconscious Leviathan. "We need to do something about him."

"Yeah. Know where we can find a bottomless pit?"

Sam put up a hand. "Wait, I think I know someone that would like to ask him some questions."

"Who?" Cas didn't think anyone would want to really talk to the Leviathans.

"We're takin him to Bobby."

Dean nodded. "If anyone can find something to hurt these things, it's him." The three of them tied up the leviathan and put him in the trunk of the Impala. It was a tight fit, but no one wanted to sit in the back seat next to it. Cas was in the back when Sam stopped Dean from getting in the car. Cas couldn't hear much but Dean had started raising his voice.

"Sam, I am so very, very, very tired."

"Like it or not, stuff you don't talk about doesn't just go away. It builds up. Like whatever's eating at you right now."

"There's always something eating at me! Whenever something happens, I feel responsible."

"No Dean I'm talking about whatever it is you're not telling me!"

So Sam was beginning to pick up on the Amy thing. Dean hadn't told him anything either but Cas had guessed what had happened. It was obvious that he was hiding something and he was using his drinking to try to forget it. Dean pulled the door open roughly and sat down with more force than necessary.

Cas wanted to say something but he could feel the tension pulsing off of Dean and Sam when he finally joined his brother in the car. He decided that keeping his mouth shut was the better thing for now.

A couple hours later, Cas and Sam had fallen asleep and Dean was glad for the absence of concerned looks. He was getting tired of everyone looking at him like he was about to explode.

Once at Bobby's, they unloaded the leviathan and secured him into the basement of the cabin they had been using in Montana. Sam had gone upstairs in a huff and fallen asleep soon after. Bobby had started in on finding out what made the leviathans squeal. Cas pulled Dean into one of the spare rooms. Dean had gotten the wrong idea and pulled Cas close in an embrace and kissed him.

Cas returned it half-heartedly before pushing him off. "What is it, Cas?"

"I wanted to ask you something." Cas took a step back. The serious look on his face sobered Dean.

"Okay, what is it?"

"It's about what Sam was talking to you about earlier." Dean rolled his eyes and took a few steps away. "I know, Dean."

"Know what?" Dean looked like he really didn't want to be there anymore.

"Amy."

Dean gave a half smile. "What about her?"

"Dean," Cas moved toward him, Dean walked away. "How long do you think you can hide this from Sam, or me for that matter?"

"I'm not hiding anything!" Dean raised his arms in frustration. "Why is everyone ganging up on me today? There's nothing going on!"

"Bullshit!" It was one of the only times Dean had heard that coming out of Cas's mouth. Sex was usually the only time Cas cursed. "Don't treat me like an idiot, Dean." Cas crowded Dean back to the wall. "I could tell the second you came back from getting your 'pills.'" Cas used the air quotes again and Dean really wanted to smile, but the fear of being caught didn't let him. "Did you kill her?"

"Cas…"

"Did you?" Cas held Dean in place with a glare.

Dean bit his lip and looked at the door. "I don't understand…" Cas silenced Dean with a hard slap on the wall beside his head.

"Don't. Lie. To me." Cas' voice was dangerous and fed up. He was sick of watching Dean slowly drown himself in alcohol, he was also beginning to believe that Dean was using him to forget his regret. He knew that Dean genuinely cared about him but he really thought that maybe he was using sex to distract himself.

Dean seemed to deflate slightly under the stare Cas was giving him. "Fine," Dean licked his lips, "it's true." Dean looked at his feet. "I found Amy and killed her." Cas nodded and backed off a little. "She was a monster, Cas. She was gonna kill again."

Cas shook his head. "That doesn't matter. You told Sam you would leave it alone, that you trusted him."

"I know!" Dean started pacing. "I just couldn't, Cas."

"Do you know how he's gonna feel when he finds out?"

"He's not gonna find out. You sure as Hell better not tell him."

"I won't. If anyone should tell him, it's you." Dean laughed and pulled out his flask. "I mean it, Dean," Cas stepped over and took the flask from Dean, "you need to tell him before he finds out from someone else."

Dean shook his head. "No, we'll be fine. I'm not telling him, and so help me if you do I will shoot you."

"I can't make you do anything. I know that. Do whatever makes you happy, Dean." Cas left Dean in the room alone, tossing his flask back onto the floor before he shut the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Some interaction between Dean and Cas gets pretty rough in this chapter. Dean hurts Cas some and I just wanted to warn you if it bothered anyone. I just didn't want it to come out of nowhere.

* * *

The next morning Bobby was still trying to find something that would hurt the leviathan he had tied in the basement. Sam and Dean had gone down to check on his progress. Cas had decided that he would rather not join them. The leviathans still irked him, he did have a few hundred trying to rip him apart not that long ago. He nestled into the couch and turned on the TV. He had only been watching a few minutes when he saw something that turned him cold inside with fear. "Guys!" Cas jumped up and ran to the stairs. "You need to see this."

The four of them watched the local news reporter showing video of Sam and Dean Winchester killing a bank full of people in California. They were now top priority for the California police.

Bobby turned off the TV. "Busy morning, guys?"

"Sons of bitches xeroxed us." Dean was standing with his arms crossed. He really wished he knew a way to kill these evil bastards.

"But," Sam stood from the couch, "I don't understand how."

Bobby was getting a drink out of the refrigerator, "I don't know. Maybe one of them touched you at the hospital."

"It was the hair!" The leviathan's voice carried up from the basement. "Not too hard to lift some DNA from a motel shower drain, guys!"

Dean looked back to Bobby, "You can copy people like that?"

"Apparently they can." Cas spoke up from behind Dean. "They are incredibly powerful."

Dean glanced back, "Awesome. What is there plan exactly?"

"Squeeze us." Sam shook his head. "Turn us into the most wanted man in America."

Dean nodded. "Alright that settles it. We find these ass-monkeys and we kill them ourselves."

Bobby stepped forward. "Wait a sec. Every form of law enforcement in the country has seen your ugly mugs this morning."

"Exactly, so what's the point in trying to hide?"

"Better than stickin' your fool neck out."

"I have to agree with Bobby." Cas walked around to face Sam and Dean. "You are outmatched in every way. They'll kill you."

"That's right, next to these things you two are like toddlers with maybe the intelligence of one."

"Well, don't sugar coat it, Bobby." Sam scuffed lightly.

"You don't have a clue how to kill them or slow them down and your plan is to what? Go right at them? Genius."

"They're wearing our faces Bobby this is personal."

"I'm with Dean here."

Bobby looked at Cas for help. Cas sighed, "You don't understand what you'll be up against. These beasts are older than anything in creation and smarter. They want you to come at them. They enjoy riling you up."

"I don't care, Cas." Dean moved closer to him. "We can't let them keep killing people lookin' like us." Dean and Cas shared a look for a tense moment before Bobby seemed to give up on trying to change their minds.

"Well," Bobby tossed his hands up, "if you're gonna be stupid, you might as well be smart about it." Bobby walked over to a small chair that held his bag. He dug out a small black book. "You need to see a fellow named Frank Devero."

"Who's he?"

"He's a jackass and a lunatic, but he owes me one." Bobby was looking through the small book. He tore out a page and handed it to Dean. It had an address for Frank. "In the meantime I'll keep working on Chatty Cathy here see if I can figure out what makes him die." Bobby looked to Cas. "You wanna help me out?"

Cas looked between Bobby and Sam and Dean. He didn't think he was up to going against the leviathans but he also didn't want to leave the brothers alone. God knows what would happen. He looked back to Bobby and shook his head. "No, I think I'll go with these two." he pointed to Sam and Dean, "Someone has to make sure they don't do anything too stupid." Dean smirked.

Bobby shrugged. "Okay, keep an eye on them for me than."

The three of them left to meet Frank Devero.

The man was insane to say the least. After aiming a gun at them, shredding their credit cards, and smashing Sam's laptop, he took their pictures and gave them new IDs. He gave them a map of all the hits their "evil twins" had made and broke Dean's heart by telling him to ditch his car.

They drove off in a small ugly car that made Dean's skin crawl. Sam was in the passenger's seat trying to link the pattern of the leviathan's moves. Cas sat in the back hoping that Dean would calm down soon. He was still pretty upset about the Impala.

"You know, it's bad enough that they're ganking people wearing our mugs, but now this?" Dean pointed to the dashboard. "They have us driving around in this…caboodle, while baby's on lockdown."

"It's temporary, Dean." Sam was trying to use his soothing voice to calm his brother. Both of them were visibly upset about the leviathans and Cas hoped they were ready to take them on.

Dean shook his head. "Nobody puts baby in a corner."

Sam's mouth opened in surprise, "You know that's a line from…"

"Swayze movie, Swayze always gets a pass."

Sam was fighting to keep his smile down. "Right," he glanced back at Cas who shared a small smile with him, "you want some tunes or somethin'?" Sam leaned forward to turn on the radio. An Air Supply song came on and Sam and Dean shared a worried look. Dean looked at the radio with a strange face. "Sorry, I…"

"Just leave it," Dean stared out the windshield, "it's probably the only thing on."

Sam shrugged and looked back to the map while Dean faced forward. Cas listened to the song with mild interest. He had never heard this before. Cas looked to Dean when he saw him raise his head.

"I'm all out of love," Dean was actually lip syncing along with the radio, "I'm so lost without you." Cas tilted his head. This song didn't sound like something he would listen to. Sam looked over at his brother was a slight look of horror. "I know you were right, believing for so long. I'm all out of love." Dean noticed Sam's look and immediately stopped and made his face neutral.

Cas felt a laugh creep up his throat. He put a hand to his mouth to hold it in. Dean turned his head to face away from Sam. The music swelled up and Sam kept looking over when Dean would start lip syncing again. Cas was laughing silently in the back seat. When Dean started head banging to the beat, Sam turned off the radio and Cas finally let a laugh escape, earning him a glare from Dean in the rearview mirror.

There was an awkward silence while Cas tried not to laugh too loudly. Sam then jumped as if struck by a thought. "Dean."

"What?"

"Jericho, the Lady in White. Black Water, Wendigo. Lake Manitoc, the kid in the lake."

"They're hitting towns we worked jobs in."

Cas leaned forward to look at the map over Sam's shoulder.

"In order, since the day I left Stanford with you."

"So what, they want us to find them?"

"I told you, Dean." Dean rolled his eyes toward Cas. Cas looked at Sam. "Where would be the next stop?"

"St. Louis."

Dean smiled. "Perfect! Conner's Diner, best burgers in St. Louis. Oh, I deserve something good in my life right now."

Cas and Sam shared a confused look. Cas shrugged and sat back. Dean picked up speed toward St. Louis.

About an hour later, Bobby called Sam who put the call on speakerphone. "Choppin' their head off won't kill them, but it'll slow them down pretty good. 'Til they juice back up anyhow."

Sam nodded, "Well that's something I guess. Assuming we can even get close enough to them."

"Believe me, I don't want you walking up to them either. I'm still looking for something to shoot at them."

"Good times, thanks, Bobby." They then heard a female voice in the background. "You got a chick over there?"

"What? No."

"Are you even working, Richard Gere?"

"Shut up, idjit." Sam and Dean smiled at each other. "Where you boys headed next?"

"St. Louis, that's where…"

Bobby cut Sam off, "It's too late, they hit St. Louis they took out some diner there."

Dean asked, "Conner's Diner?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

Sam looked back to the map, "Alright, so much for that. I guess we're off to Iowa. Call us if you hear anything else."

"Well there was something. Cas?"

Cas leaned forward, "Yeah, Bobby?"

"It seems the boys aren't the only ones shootin' up places anymore. The diner was held hostage by three men. The Winchesters and an unknown man that sounds like matches your description."

Cas sighed. He should have expected that soon enough. "Okay, thanks." Cas sat back and rubbed a hand over his face. At least he didn't have any real identity to hide.

Sam hung up the phone. "Sorry Cas, welcome to the life of the wanted criminals."

Cas huffed a laugh. "Thanks." Dean gave a worried look into the rearview mirror. Cas met his look briefly before turning to look out the window. He could handle this. He was more worried about the two of them anyway.

Once in Iowa, they parked their old junker and were walking down a street when a familiar sound made Dean stop. He looked to see his car driving past them, their twins inside. "Guys, hold up." Dean put an arm out. Sam and Cas stopped, they saw the Impala double drive around and park across the street from them.

"Oh no," Sam started as his double got out of the car, followed by Dean and Cas's doubles, "this is all sorts of wrong."

Dean pulled out his phone and called Bobby. "Hey, we got eyes on them."

"What?"

"It's like looking in a funhouse mirror. Tell us you got something," Dean walked closer to the curb, Sam and Cas followed, "otherwise we'll have to get in close."

"Look, just hang back for now."

"It's too late we got…" Dean stopped when a police car pulled up in front of them, siren blaring. An officer jumped out of the car.

"Hands in the air." The cop pulled out his weapon.

"Whoa, this is a big misunderstanding," Dean put his hands up, Cas and Sam did the same, "the guys you want are right there."

"Shut up!" More cops were circling the three men. "Just drop the phone and put your hands in the air."

Dean dropped the phone. Officers moved in to cuff them. Dean rolled his eyes and looked across the street. The leviathans were watching with smiles lighting up their faces. Dean's double winked at him as the cop pushed him into the car. The three of them were driven to the station.

At the station, Sam and Cas were taken to separate interview rooms while Dean was dragged to the holding cell demanding his phone call. Cas was cuffed to the table. The room was large and cold. He had tried every way he knew of getting out but he didn't have the right tools on hand. With a sigh, he laid his head on his trapped hands and waited for the interrogation that was imminent.

He heard the door open and looked up expecting an officer, but he saw himself walking through the door with a big smile. He sat up and swallowed the lump in his throat. His double walked up to the table and looked Cas up and down. "Hello, Castiel."

The leviathan sat on the table's edge. Cas stared at his double with a blank expression. He didn't want to feed the monster by getting upset or reacting at all.

"What's wrong? Not feeling chatty?" He tilted his head as if studying him. "Okay," he stood from the table, "that's alright I can talk for both of us." He ran a hand over Cas's back as he walked around him. Cas jerked on instinct. "You are one strange animal you know that?" Cas stared straight ahead. "An angel, then Heaven's sheriff, then 'God', now a human." He leaned on the table across from Cas. "What happened? You were doing so well, moving up. What would possess you to end up here as a smelly disgusting meat sack?"

"You say that like I had a choice."

"Of course you did." His double leaned closer. "You always chose the path that brought you closer to were you are now. Because of that human," He smiled cruelly, "your Dean." Cas glared at him. He laughed. "You know, you could do so much better. Maybe you could be obsessed with someone who really wanted you?"

Cas glared at his double, wishing he could kill him more than anything. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, but I do." He tapped his temple. "It's all here. Everything you know, think, believe, it's all in here." He moved around to stand behind Cas. "You know he's only using you right?" He leaned down, resting his hands on Cas's shoulders, "He doesn't really care about you."

Cas closed his eyes. His skin was crawling from the contact with the leviathan. "You don't know that, because I don't know that for sure." He opened his eyes and looked at the reflection of the two of them in the glass window across the room. His double smiled.

"I guess. Will this help?" The leviathan smiled as his form turned into Dean. Cas felt his insides clench. "That better, Cas?" He leaned down and pressed close to Cas's ear. "You like this more don't you?" He ran his right hand over the exposed skin on the back Cas's neck.

Cas shivered at the touch and jerked his head away. "Don't touch me."

Dean chuckled. "You're so fun to play with, Cas." He ran a hand through Cas's hair. "Of course," he grabbed a handful of hair and pulled his head back, "that's all you're for isn't it?" Cas glared. "I see it now," he leaned over Cas, almost touching his lips, "Dean might like you, but right now all he wants is to fuck you. You're a good distraction for him and all his guilt and pain." He smiled when Cas tried to pull his head away. "Usually he would have found some random girl to bang, but now you're so convenient that he can't resist."

Cas swallowed back the emotions threatening to spill over. He didn't want to believe him, but why would he lie? Cas closed his eyes and willed the Dean holding him to leave. The sound of the door being crashed down made the Dean double let go and stand up. Cas looked to see his Dean rushing forward, Sam close behind with an axe. Dean threw Borax at the leviathan and Sam chopped his head off. Dean made quick work of Cas's cuffs and pulled him up.

"We gotta go. One of the officers is covering for us." Dean pulled Cas toward the door. Sam patted his shoulder and gave him a questioning look. Cas nodded to him in reassurance before following Dean out of the station.

Cas could tell that something happened to Sam. From what Dean had said, Sam had been with the original Dean double. Judging from the enraged looks Sam was throwing at the back of Dean's head, Sam was definitely told something he didn't like. Cas could relate. Dean seemed oblivious to all of it.

Dean pulled the car up to a pier and climbed out, intending to dump the severed heads of the leviathans. Sam was leaning on the car and Cas was standing on the opposite side watching Dean unzip the bag with the heads. "You really think we should dump these things? I'm thinking they might come in handy down the road." Sam stood silently. Dean moved over to look better at his brother. Cas had a bad feeling it was all about to go down. "What, what is it? Talk."

"Nothing." Sam's voice was flat. Cas and Dean shared a knowing look. Sam was hiding something.

"Well that's convincing. What, did monster Us give you the jeebs cause I'll be honest I ain't lookin in the mirror for a while myself."  
Sam stood up and turned a deceptively calm face to Dean. "Okay, you really want to know what's wrong?"

"Yeah," Dean looked at Cas with a smile, "you know my motto: here to help."

Sam gave a bitter laugh, "Here to help. Like how you helped Amy?" Cas cursed internally. He knew this would happen. He looked over to Dean.

Dean licked his lips as he thought of something to say. "Listen, Sam…"

"Don't," Sam shifted on his feet in anger, "don't lie to me again. You know, don't even talk to me." Sam and Dean shared a look of hurt and betrayal. Dean wanted to make it better but Sam wasn't going to hear it. He shook his head, "Yeah, I can't." Sam opened the car door and pulled out his backpack. He put the bag on his shoulder and walked off.

"You can't what?" Dean started after him.

"I can't talk to you right now." Sam called back before he stopped and turned back, "I can't even be around you right now."

"Okay, so?"

"So, I think you should just go on without me." Sam was not messing around. Dean felt like he had been punched in the gut. He didn't want Sam to leave.

Cas walked up to stand beside Dean. "Sam, I know you're upset."

"Upset? Upset doesn't begin to describe it." Sam gave Cas a searching look. "You know, you don't seem that surprised about any of this."  
Cas and Dean shared a short look. Sam huffed in anger. "How long have you known? Did you not think I should know?"

"It wasn't my place to tell you." Sam looked close to exploding. "I haven't known long, Sam."

"Well, that makes it all better." Sam turned back around and shouted over his shoulder as he walked off. "Just go on without me guys. I'm sure you'll be fine together."

Dean watched Sam with a look of guilt and anger. When he was out of sight, Dean turned back to the car and picked up the bag of heads. He walked by Cas and tossed the bag into the water with a forceful throw. He watched the bag sink in silence, Cas waited by the car and gave Dean his moment.

Everything the leviathan had told him was running through his head now. All of the doubt about his and Dean's relationship surfaced within him. He wasn't even sure what to classify their relationship as. Dean walked back and opened the driver door. When Cas didn't immediately move, Dean leaned on the frame. "You coming, or are you ditching me too?" He meant it to come out in humor but it sounded more like a depressed expectation.

Everything he wanted to say to Dean and confront him about ran through his head. He was about to speak when the look in Dean's eye made him stop. Dean had been through enough right now. "I'm coming." Cas moved around to the passenger's seat. Dean drove off for the motel.

Dean walked into their room first, throwing his bag on the bed and dropping their cooler on the floor. He pulled out a beer. Cas sighed loudly. Dean rolled his eyes and opened the beer. "What?"

"You starting in on that already?" Cas pointed to his drink.

"Cas, please," Dean turned to face him, "it's been a long day. I just want to relax for a minute." He took a drink from the bottle.

Cas tightened his lips in frustration. "How much are you planning on drinking?"

Dean laughed. "I don't know. However much it takes."

"Takes to what?"

"To feel good." He took another drink.

Cas sighed again. "Dean."

"What?" He put the beer down on the small table by the bed.

"I just wish you wouldn't do this."

"Do what?" Dean held his arms out in annoyance. He really didn't want to hear this from Cas right now. "I'm a big boy, Cas. I can do whatever I want to."

"I know, but this," he pointed to the cooler, "won't really help. I've seen you, Dean," Dean dropped his arms and looked blankly at the floor, "you drink all the time. I've hardly ever seen you without some kind of alcohol in your hand. And it's obviously," Cas moved to get in Dean's line of vision, "not helping."

"How would you know what's helping me?"

"Because I know you, Dean." Dean looked up with a look that challenged that statement. "I know that you're upset," Dean moved and picked up his beer, "and you should be. Sam's gone and you feel responsible or angry…"

"He'll come back. He always does."

"What if he doesn't? Sure, he might be gone for a week or it could be another four years…"

"Shut up, Cas." Dean shook his head, his eyes were hardening to mask what he was really feeling underneath. "I don't want to talk about it. Just leave me alone." He sat on the bed and finished off his beer.

"No." Cas stood beside Dean, "Don't do this. Don't try to push me out too." Dean stood up and pushed passed Cas, who followed him across the room. He grabbed Dean's shoulder and turned him around. "You need to deal with this, accept it, scream about it. Do something other than drink and stew."

Dean pushed Cas back a couple steps. "I'll deal with stuff however I want. If you don't like it," he held his arm out, "there's the door. No one is making you stay."

They stared each other down, willing the other to back down. Cas shook his head. "You really want me to leave too?"

Dean's face stayed neutral. "Whatever makes you happy."

"Is it a good idea for me to leave?" Cas could feel the anger firing up inside him. All of the leviathan's words found their way back to his mind, clouding his thoughts with anger. "You might need me for something later."

"Like what?"

Cas frowned. "Maybe after you're drunk enough, you might want something else to distract you."

Dean furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"That's all I'm really good for right? I'm just a convenient body for you? Right?" Dean still looked confused. "Come on, Dean, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are we really doing, Dean? Do you really want me around for more than just something physical?"

"How could you even ask that?" Dean deflated a little and sounded genuinely hurt. "How long have we been friends, Cas?"

"Well, when we don't really communicate in any way other than sex, it's not that hard to have doubts about how you feel. And it doesn't help that…"

"That what?" Cas' eyes looked around the room before landing at his feet. "Cas?"

"At the police station, the leviathan said…"

"Oh, come on. You're gonna believe that monster over what I say."

"Yes!" Dean made a face like he'd been slapped. "They had no reason to lie. I was gonna die soon as far as the double of you was concerned. And then you, who never wants to talk about anything or deal with anything real, you want me to trust everything you say?"

"Cas, do you really believe that?"

"Tell me I'm wrong. Prove to me that he was lying." Dean gave him a disbelieving look. Cas wanted it to be false. He cared about Dean more than anyone, but Dean seemed to be unable to tell him what he wanted. Cas gave an angry smile, "I thought so." Cas moved passed Dean and opened the door, cold night air rushing in.

"Where are you going?" Dean sounded a little nervous. The last thing he wanted was for Cas to leave him too.  
Cas didn't answer. He walked out the door and started off through the parking lot. Dean followed out after him. "Cas!" He didn't slow down in his walk. "You're coming back right? Cas!" Cas ignored Dean and crossed the street. Dean was angry now. Fine, he would be okay on his own. He didn't need anyone else. "Fine, go! I don't need you anyway!" Dean turned back through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

A few hours later, Dean was sitting on the edge of the bed having drunk almost everything they had in the cooler. His brain was swimming and his vision was blurry. He didn't feel anything though. He was blessedly free of any worries. That is, until Cas walked through the door. Dean looked up, his head bobbing a little. "What're you doin here?" His words were slurred together so much, Cas had a hard time understanding what he said.

Cas closed the door behind him gently and stood with the stillness of a statue. "How much did you drink?"

Dean laughed quietly and closed his eyes. He was thinking hard trying to come up with an answer. "Uhh," he laughed again, "I don't know, man." He couldn't stop laughing now.

Cas nodded. "How do you feel?" Dean made a low noise in his throat. "Was it worth it?"

"Where'd you go?" Dean suddenly felt angry and stood up to confront Cas.

"A bar up the road." His voice was quiet and calm. He didn't want to give Dean any reason to attack him.

"Without me?" Dean stumbled toward him with a hurt look. "You know I love a good dive bar."

"I needed some time alone. Just like you." Dean had gotten even closer, the stink of beer coming off him like he had bathed in it.

"Huh," Dean blinked a few times, trying to stop his vision from spinning. He was seeing a couple of Cas, "did you hook up with someone while you were there?" Cas took a slow breath. "Someone buy you a drink?" Dean's balance tipped him forward until he was almost touching Cas. "Tell me."

"Does it matter?" Cas didn't back away. He knew Dean could get violent when he was drunk, but he was also easy to take down while drunk.

Dean laughed. "I'm just curious. I wanna see how much of a hypocrite you really are." Dean hiccupped. "You get mad at me for drinking and then go to a bar, classy."

"I had one drink. I didn't get drunk." Dean scuffed and smiled. "Why don't you go to sleep. You're no good to anyone like this." Cas gently pushed Dean's shoulder in an attempt to move him to the bed.

Dean shoved Cas, throwing him to the door. "You didn't answer my question." Cas straightened, ignoring the dull pain of hitting the door so hard. "Did someone buy you that drink? Did you pay them back?"

"Go to sleep." Cas kept his voice quiet, but he was very tired and wanted Dean to listen.

"Did some bar slut try to pick you up, Cas?" Dean moved into Cas' face. "Did it work? Did you go to the back or the bathroom?" Dean sounded angrier with every word. Cas would have almost said jealous.

"Go to sleep." Cas's voice left no argument this time, but Dean glared at him in defiance. "Go now or I'll make you."

"Yeah, how?" Dean squared up, ready for a fight.

"I'm not your brother, Dean. I'm not gonna hit you." Dean flinched at the mention of Sam. "But," Cas leaned forward to whisper close to Dean's face, "I can take you down with one touch."

Dean's eyes glinted with a mix of irritation and lust. "Yeah, I know you can."

"So, are you going to cooperate?" Dean licked his lips and looked Cas up and down. He gave a toothy smile and leaned forward, pressing a sloppy kiss to Cas's lips. Cas reached out and gave a tight grip on Dean where his shoulder met his neck. He immediately gasped and fell to his knees. Cas looked down with hard eyes. "Stop it."

Dean grunted in pain. He looked up with pleading eyes. His vision had cleared substantially due to the sharp pain shooting through his body. "Cas." Dean reached out and grabbed Cas's hips. "I'm sorry." He slid forward on his knees. His hands moved around to the front of Cas's jeans. Fingers dug in making Cas's eyes close. Dean leaned forward and pressed his face into Cas's crotch.

Cas's breath hitched before he tightened his grip sharply. Dean's head fell back and he cried out in pain. "Don't." Cas had actually been picked up at the bar that night. The guy had bought him the drink and came onto him pretty strong. They had gone out back but Cas couldn't go through with everything. He had left before they had gone too far. He was left with a good hard on though, which had almost gone away when he got back, but it was coming back with a vengeance now.

"Please, Cas?" He pulled Cas towards him and made him stumble. "Let me…" Dean eyed him with a desperate plea.

Cas swallowed. "No, you need to sleep." He would have to take a shower or something to help himself calm down later. He really wanted nothing more than to let Dean do what he wanted.

Dean's head fell. His hands held on lightly to Cas's jeans. "I guess I can't do anything right anymore can I?" He looked back up with sad eyes. His hands moved to unbutton Cas's pants.

"Dean." Cas warned him. It was getting harder to refuse him. Sure hands had opened his jeans and freed his straining erection. Cas was about to grip his shoulder again, when Dean took him down completely to the base of his dick. Cas let out a surprised gasp. His head fell back against the door.

Dean moved his head quickly, wasting no time in giving Cas what he needs. Cas's right hand moved to hold Dean's head. Dean held Cas's jeans tight and pulled his hips into him.

Cas was trying to keep his hips still, but Dean was making it difficult by pulling on him. He started to thrust forward in shallow moves, feeling Dean hum against him which made his knees start to give out. Having been so worked up to begin with and Dean's desperation to finish him quickly, Cas was coming down Dean's throat before he knew it. Dean took it all.

He pulled off Cas and looked up to meet his glazed eyes. They were both breathing hard. Dean could feel his jeans tightening around his own erection. With a rush he stood up and pushed Cas's hands up against the door. His world spun around him and made him feel sick for a second. He shook his head and pushed against Cas, who moaned against him.

"What are you gonna do, Dean?" Cas felt exhaustion pulling at him and his legs were shaking with exertion. Dean gave him a thoughtful look before kissing him hard and rough, pushing his head painfully into the door behind him.

"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do." Dean released Cas's hands and bent down slightly to grab Cas's open jeans. With a hard tug, he pulled them down to his ankles. Cas stepped out of them out of habit. "I'm gonna fuck you into this door." Dean growled into his ear and rubbed his still clothed hips against Cas's naked and sensitive body. Cas moaned again and wrapped his arms around Dean's neck. Dean roughly grabbed Cas's ass and lifted him up. Cas wrapped his legs around Dean's waist.

Dean pushed against Cas, banging him into the door. He freed a hand and quickly undid his jeans and pulled out his erection. His head was spinning again and he leaned into Cas and took a few breaths. Cas ran a hand through the back of his hair. When he could see straight again, he kissed Cas running his tongue over the roof of his mouth causing Cas to groan and tighten his legs around Dean.

Dean's breath was getting harder to catch. He pushed his hips forward and rubbed his dick along Cas's making both of them cry out. "Cas," Dean buried his head into the other man's shoulder, "oh, I love you." He didn't mean to say it, but in his current state it was hard to control anything.

Cas felt his heart speed up. He pulled Dean's head back. "What did you say?" Dean closed his eyes in embarrassment. Instead of answering, he lined himself up and entered Cas in a hard thrust. It hurt a lot, but Cas held on to Dean and bore through it. Dean growled into his neck. "Dean, why?" He gave a hard thrust making Cas's speech stutter. "Tell me why you love me."

Dean made a strangled noise. He hadn't meant to say it. Why did Cas have to ask? He was so tight around Dean, he didn't think speech would be possible right now. He thrusted into Cas a few times and felt him adjusting to him now. He hadn't thought about how much that had to have hurt him. "Cas, I'm sorry." He whispered as he moved again and again.

Cas was arching into him now and moaning. Sure it had hurt at first, but he didn't mind. He knew Dean needed this right now. He would do whatever Dean needed from him. "Dean, tell me please."

"Cas, I can't." Dean stopped to adjust his hold on Cas. His legs were starting to protest and his back began to hurt. The wooden door creaked with every move, threatening to break soon. "You have to know." He thrusted in. He avoided looking at Cas as he talked. His orgasm was building. "You're smart," thrust, "strong," thrust, "you don't take any of my shit," thrust, "and God," Dean faltered slightly, "your eyes Cas, your fucking eyes haunt me sometimes. They're so beautiful." Dean did finally look up and met those huge eyes. "You're beautiful Cas, and you're always here when I need you." Dean thrusted in a couple more times when his release hit him like a slap. He cried out Cas's name and pressed tight against him.

Cas moaned at the feeling of Dean filling him and at the words he had spoken. Dean's hard breath ran over his neck as he tried to catch his breath and ride out his orgasm. Cas hissed as Dean slipped out of him and stepped back. Cas put his feet down and balanced on his shaky legs.

Dean took hold of Cas and kissed him gently with more care than he ever had before. "I'm sorry if I hurt you." He whispered, shame coloring his voice as everything that happened finally hit him fully.

"It's okay." Cas pushed Dean back gently with a hand. "Now you need to sleep, Dean." Dean went willingly this time. He fell onto his bed and covered his face with his hands. Cas pulled on his boxers and knelt beside the bed. Dean had seemed to have fallen asleep already so Cas pulled his boots and jeans off. He then went to the bathroom and brought out a cloth to clean Dean up before adjusting his boxers into their proper place.

Dean grumbled in his sleep as Cas pulled the covers over him. He reached out and grabbed Cas's arm. "Don't go." Dean pulled his arm until Cas crawled into the bed beside him.

"Don't worry, Dean. I'm not going anywhere." Cas curled up behind Dean. Dean held his hand tight and pulled it up to lay against his chest. Cas settled in and tried to calm his mind for sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Dean could feel the pounding in his head before he even woke up fully. He groaned and rolled onto his back. He felt like he had been hit by a truck. His eyes cautiously opened, expecting the bright sunlight to stab into his sensitive eyes. He was surprised by the darkness that greeted him. Someone had closed all the curtains and kept the lights off. He assumed it had been Cas, who was MIA right now.

Thankful for the darkness, Dean looked up at the mostly white ceiling trying to remember exactly what happened last night. He remembered him and Cas fighting and then drinking a lot, and a vague fight after that. The rest was hazy. The click of a door, that would have been quiet normally, scratched at his ears in a painful noise. Cas stepped out of the bathroom, wet hair telling he had just showered. He looked surprised at Dean being awake.

"Morning." Cas nodded at Dean with a small smile. "How do you feel?"

Dean just groaned in response. He covered his eyes from the soft light coming from the bathroom's open door. He heard a slight chuckle from Cas.

"Here." Dean looked to see Cas offering him a small glass of water.

"Thanks." Dean took it and drank it down. Cas watched him with worried eyes. When he was done he handed the glass back to Cas. He watched the other man walk back to refill the glass. He was walking a lot slower than normal, almost a little like it hurt to walk. It was then that he was slapped with memories of the night before. The fight, the sex, and what was said. He closed his eyes, not wanting to face what he had done. He had hurt Cas, he knows he did and yet he was still there taking care of him. What made him deserve this?

"I was just heading out to get some stuff." Cas walked back with the new full glass of water, which he sat on the cabinet beside the bed. "Anything in particular you want?"

Dean laid back and covered his face with his hands, a groan escaping him again from the pain in his head and the reality of last night flashing through his mind. "No."

There was silence a moment as Cas watched Dean. He was wondering when or if Dean would remember what had all happened and if he should say anything about it. Deciding to let Dean rest for now, Cas left to get some food and Aspirin. He closed the door lightly behind him.

Dean heaved out a sigh and pulled the covers up to bury himself underneath wishing he could erase last night. He remembered now, clearly. He knew he could get rough when he was drunk but he knows he had crossed some kind of line last night. Wanting to just smother in his shame, he rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes tight.

A rush of cold air startled him awake. Cas had pulled the covers off him, filling his vision in unexpected light and pain. "Ugh! Dammit." Dean buried his face into the pillow and tried to hide from the evil light.

"I got you breakfast and something to help." Dean heard the bag of food hit the table and the rattle of pills. He cracked an eye open to see Cas opening the bag and pulling out something small and putting it on the table.

Cas turned, "You still spinning, Dean?" He tilted his head to meet Dean's eye. Dean groaned in response. Cas smiled and turned his back to him to open the bottle of Aspirin.

Dean decided that he would need to get up and face the day sooner or later and pulled himself up to sit. Cas was walking toward him with a closed fist. He held his hand out to offer the pills. "Thanks," Dean took them from Cas and downed them quickly hoping for some relief from the headache that felt like it was trying to pry his head open.

Cas handed Dean the bag of food and pulled a chair up beside the bed to eat his sausage biscuit sandwich. He also sat a cup of coffee on the cabinet beside the glass of water for Dean. "So," his mouth was full of biscuit, "you feel any better?"

Dean shrugged and pulled a breakfast burrito out of the bag, leaving the hash brown for later. "Ask me later." He took a mouthful out of the burrito, determined not to look at Cas. He saw the other man nod out of the corner of his eye.

They ate in silence for a couple minutes. Dean not looking away from his food and feeling Cas giving him worried looks. "Dean?"

"Yeah?" He grabbed the coffee and took a drink, the warmth spreading through him pleasantly.

"I hope you know that last night was a one-time thing."

Dean felt a cold stab of fear go through him. "What do you mean?"

Cas looked grim. "I know you're upset about Sam, but I'm not letting you drink yourself into the mess you were last night." Dean let out a mental sigh of relief. "I took all the alcohol out of the room and we're not getting anymore for a little while."

"I agree." Dean lifted up a hand. Cas looked a little surprised. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

"Really?" Cas narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "That easily?"

Dean gave a small smile, "Yeah," his heart pounded in his ears he took a deep breath. "Cas, I remember what happened last night." Cas looked away and tightened his lips. "And, I don't want anything like that to happen again."

Cas nodded and looked back to Dean, he could tell he was serious. He was about to tell Dean how glad he was, when a sudden vibration in his pocket made him jump violently in his chair. After having a mini-heart attack, Cas pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw the caller ID.

"Who is it?" Dean took a sip from his coffee.

"Uh," Cas stood up, staring at the phone, "I'll be right back." He answered the call as he stepped outside. "Sam?"

"Hey, Cas." Sam's voice sounded worn out.

"Are you okay? Do you need help?"

Sam gave a small laugh. "I'm fine. I just wanted to let you know I was okay."

"Where are you?" Cas glanced back to make sure Dean wasn't trying to eavesdrop.

"I am," Sam sounded hesitant. Cas could guess he really didn't want to be talking right now at all. "I'm not where you are and I'm fine."

"Are you with Bobby?"

"No. I need some time off to be alone…to breathe."

"Sam, you being alone may not be the best thing for you right now. If Lucifer is still…"

"Lucifer isn't the problem right now. I'm more worried about Dean than him." Sam sighed. "I don't know if I can trust him. He lied to my face, he killed my friend. I can't be around him."

"Well, I'm worried about both of you. Dean's not doing so well either." Silence hung in the air as both of them thought of what to say. Cas didn't like being stuck between the two brothers. He wanted to help both of them but that wasn't easy to do.

"I'm glad Dean has you Cas, I really am. He needs someone around. Take care of him for me."

"I will. Promise me something, Sam." Sam gave an affirmative. "Promise me that you'll go to Bobby if you feel at all like you need help, and let me know that you're okay every day." He heard Sam getting ready to protest. "I'm not asking for a talk every day but a text or voicemail, something from you to let me know you're okay."

"Okay, Mom." Sam was laughing slightly. "I promise."

"Thank you, Sam."

"Yeah, no problem. Bye, Cas."

"Bye, Sam." Cas hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket. Preparing himself for an interrogation, he opened the motel door. Dean was rubbing the pad of his hand against his forehead. He looked up when Cas entered.

"Who was that?" Cas shrugged as he walked back to the chair beside the bed. Dean set his coffee back on the side table. "Well, not that many people have your number, Cas. So, I'm guessing it was either Sam or Bobby and I don't see a reason for you to go outside for a call from Bobby so…"

"It was Sam."

"You think?" Dean flailed his arms in frustration. "So where is he?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me."

"What's he doing?"

"I don't know, Dean."

"Well," Dean's voice was rising, "what the hell did you talk about?"

"He's fine, Dean. That's all you need to know. I told him to go to Bobby if he thinks he needs to." Dean looked away in frustration. "He'll be okay, Dean. Just give him some time."

Dean closed his eyes and let out a breath through his nose. His brother was in no condition to be alone. He and Cas sat in silence for a couple minutes. It was a little nice to just sit like this. He should have known it wouldn't last long.

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

Cas looked up with a curious expression. "I've learned a lot about human behavior since becoming one, but there's something I don't understand."

"What's that?"

"Why did you act the way you did last night? You've been drunk before but you've never been so rough with me. What was different?"

Dean had really hoped they could avoid this talk, at least until the pounding in his head had stopped. "I don't know. Sam was gone, you were gone, I felt guilty, I didn't even know where you were, Cas. I didn't know if you were coming back and the alcohol was right there."

"I get that. I don't understand your reaction when I got back."

Dean didn't know if it was the hangover or if he was that tired but he couldn't stop talking. "Have you met me? You know how I act when I'm drunk. I was relieved you came back but then I was angry for you leaving and everything just built up." Cas waited for him to go on, but he didn't.

"So, you were upset and you lashed out the only way you knew how?"

"I thought you would do something to stop me. Hit me, yell at me, knock me out, something and then I would  
have been punished for what I did. You didn't do anything though."

"You wanted to be punished?"

"I feel like I am now." Dean looked at Cas with guilt pushing to the surface. "Why did you let me hurt you like that?"

Cas shrugged and looked at his hands. "It seemed like you needed to let out some frustration and I wanted to help you." He looked up with a half smile. "If I'd realized you wanted me to fight back, I would have."

"Next time huh?" Dean was half joking but the serious look in Cas' eyes now made him sober up a little.

"There won't be a next time." He left no alternative in his voice.

"I hope so."

Dean spent the majority of the day in bed either sleeping or watching TV. Cas sat quietly reading a couple books he had taken from the cabin they had been staying in. That night Cas had moved to the bed with his book and was resting close to Dean while he watched Van Helsing on TV, making comments about vampires and werewolves. By the end of the movie, Cas had put the book down and was watching with interest. Dean figured it was because Dracula had said that Van Helsing was the left hand of God.

Cas was leaning against Dean's shoulder, his head was starting to bob forward as he slipped closer to sleep. Dean shifted his arm to wrap lightly around Cas and his head tipped to land on Dean's shoulder. He gently ran his hand through Cas's hair and pulled Cas closer making him turn and wrap around his side. Dean stayed there for a while with Cas sleeping soundly against him until he started drifting off. He turned off the TV and moved to a more comfortable, flat position, holding Cas against him.

For the next week they both managed to not fight or drink and Dean had to admit, it felt good. Cas had been getting daily texts from Sam telling him not to worry so much just like he promised. Dean was starting to get stir crazy though, so he started looking for jobs nearby. He thought he had found one a couple states over but once they had driven there it had turned out to be nothing for them.

"Just relax, Dean." Cas could tell Dean needed a job soon or he would really go insane.

"I'm goin nuts here man. I wanna work."

"I thought you liked days off." Cas moved over to stand behind him. He brought his hands up and started massaging his back. Dean groaned.

"I do, but I've had a week." Dean arched back into the strong hands. "I'm not used to this." He moaned again as Cas hit a tight muscle in his back. Cas slipped his arms around Dean and laid his forehead on Dean's back and nuzzled his neck. Dean closed his eyes. "Cas."

Cas kissed the back of his neck lightly. He ran his hands up Dean's chest and hugged him close. Dean covered Cas's hands with his and soaked in the warmth of him and the feeling of comfort he always had with Cas so close to him. He really doesn't know how he would have survived this long without him. Dean pulled Cas's hand up and kissed his palm. Cas hummed his approval against Dean's neck.

Dean pushed Cas's arms open enough for him to turn around and pull Cas into a kiss. He returned it eagerly. Dean let go of Cas's hands and wrapped his right arm around Cas's waist and pulled him up against him. Cas grabbed Dean's jacket collar and tugged him down into a hard kiss. Dean held the back of his head.

Cas moaned and pulled on Dean harder, crushing their lips together. He let his hands trace down the jacket before peeling it back and sliding it off his shoulders. Dean took a small step back and quickly pulled his jacket off completely before pulling Cas's arms to bring him into another kiss. They gripped each other tight, Cas pushed his body against Dean hard enough to move him back slowly until his legs hit the bed.

Feeling the mattress behind him, Dean broke the kiss and dug his fingers into Cas's shoulders. He ran his thumb up Cas's neck, dragging his nail across bare skin making Cas shiver. Cas hooked his fingers into Dean's belt loops and pulled his hips against him. Dean's thumb moved up along Cas's cheek and behind his ear. Cas closed his eyes and sighed. When he moved his head into Dean's hand, Dean leaned down and kissed his exposed neck.

His body, seemingly of it's own accord, arched into Dean and made him push him back to fall to the bed, dragging Cas with him. Dean landed with a huff. Cas was straddling him and kissing him with a fiery want. He figured he could learn to deal with another day off.

The next day, they had gotten lunch and were scoping out possible new cars in the parking lot. Dean decided the old, half blue, Dodge would do. Dean jimmied the lock while Cas stood beside the car like it was normal for him to do so. Once he had opened the lock and moved the trash off the passenger seat, Cas slid into the car. The radio was playing with some obnoxious DJ trying way too hard to be cool. Dean was about to turn it off when Cas heard something.

"Dean, wait."

"Two very odd murders to be exact. Mediums are dying in Lily Dale, the most psychic town in America."

They shared a glance. "There's your job, Dean."

"Yeah," Dean smiled, "sounds good to me. We're off to Lily Dale." Dean backed out of the parking spot and headed to New York.

After a day of pulling back the curtain on a dead medium's tricks, Dean and Cas went to the Good Graces Café. After being a little creeped by the host, Dean was turning to leave when Cas saw a familiar figure across the restaurant. Cas grabbed Dean's arm. "What?" Cas pointed to where Sam was sitting and looking through a file of pictures. "I'll be damned." Dean and Cas joined Sam and the three of them agreed to work together while they were in the same place.

Cas was glad to see that Sam was in fact alright, but almost instantly Dean had reverted back to how he had been, like the last week hadn't happened. During the investigation, they managed to work together well enough but they were arguing and fighting every free moment they had. They stayed in different motels and Cas was thankful for that. Dean had started drinking again, although not nearly as much. At least not yet.

They found and burned the wrong bones, costing another medium her life before Sam found the right bones and got them just in time to save Dean, Cas, and the ghost's latest target. Cas had wanted to give them some time to figure out what they were going to do, so he headed back to the room. They had had a couple sleepless nights so Cas decided to take a nap while he was alone.

A couple hours later, he woke to find Sam and Dean sitting at the table by the window. Sam was on his laptop and Dean was looking through his dad's journal. Cas sat up and stretched. "Are you two working together again?"

Sam and Dean shared a look. Sam smiled and said, "For now. We're working through it." Dean just rolled his eyes but Cas caught the relieved smile.

Cas nodded. "Good." And it was. Cas may not like that Dean was drinking again and fighting more today than they had the last two weeks, but Dean needed Sam around and vice versa. Hopefully nothing splits them up like that any time soon.


	7. Chapter 7

When Dean had first brought up the Vegas trip it had been a good thing. It seemed like a good idea to Cas that the brothers kept their tradition of the week long trip, but Sam changed their plans the day they left.

"You wanna what?" Dean was looking at Sam like he had grown a second head.

"I saw an ad for a camp site nearby where you want to stay and I want to spend the week there." Sam was packing his bag into the trunk.

"Why the hell would you want to camp?"

"Because," Sam looked over the trunk lid, "I'm tired of hotel rooms and crappy TV. Some time outside sounds better." Sam shut the trunk and walked around the side of the car.

"You're serious?" Sam nodded. "But," Dean shifted on his feet and looked like he might throw a small tantrum, "Sam we always do this. It's our Vegas trip, man, you can't just bail on me."

Sam gave a half smile. "I'm not bailing on you."

"But you are leaving me to go off and…become one with nature or whatever."

Sam chuckled. "It's not like you'll be alone. Cas will be there." Sam opened the passenger door. "I thought you two would like some time alone anyway. In Vegas." Sam gave Dean a wide smile before slipping into the Impala. Dean smiled and shook his head lightly. Cas joined them after checking them out. He was confused about Sam's change in plans but understood why Sam wanted some more time alone. The three of them drove to Las Vegas for a week of selfish fun, and in Sam's case relaxation.

Dean dropped Sam off at the camp site telling him to "have a good time, hippie." Sam waved as they backed out to the highway. Cas crawled up to the front seat as Dean pulled onto the main highway. About half an hour later they parked outside one of the nicer hotels in the center of the flashing city lights.

"Are you sure you want to stay here, Dean?" Cas was slipping his bag onto his shoulder. The hotel looked expensive and completely different than anything else they had ever stayed in.

"Why not?" Dean walked up to Cas's side and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's our week to be selfish and indulgent." Dean wiggled his eyebrows and started for the door, pulling Cas by his sleeve. Cas let himself be dragged with a smile.

The hotel even had a bar by the lobby. Dean was laughing, "This is so awesome," they were riding the elevator up to their room, "we don't even have to leave the building to have a good time." Dean practically ran when the elevator doors opened, dragging Cas along behind him like an excited five year old who wanted to show their friend something cool they had found. He quickly opened their room door and entered the deceptively large room.

Dean whistled. "Wow, this is awesome." He looked around the room taking in the huge single bed and full bathroom and flat screen TV on the wall. They even had a balcony that overlooked the bright city. Dean dropped his bag and practically hopped to the sliding glass doors to the balcony. He slid the door open and felt the cool night air rush in. "Cas, come here." He held out a hand to his friend who was still standing in the doorway with a huge grin at Dean's excitement.

Cas closed the door behind him and slipped his bag onto the floor as he slowly walked over to Dean. Dean immediately took hold of Cas and pulled him out to the balcony. They stood against the railing and looked down at the rushing city street, hearing the laughs and talk of the people under them. Dean had a smile on his face like Cas hadn't seen in years from the man. His green eyes sparkled as he took in the skyline and Cas didn't think he had ever seen anything so beautiful. Cas took hold of Dean's hand and leaned forward to place a light kiss on his lips.

When they parted both men were smiling. Dean leaned forward and kissed Cas. "So," he stepped forward and took Cas's other hand in his, "is your drinking ban lifted for this week?"

"You've already been drinking since Sam came back."

"Not as much. I'm asking if we can really have fun this week."

Cas searched Dean's eyes and smiled at the pure joy he saw there. He figured Dean couldn't get into too much trouble if he was around, "I guess, just for this week." Dean laughed in victory and kissed Cas again.

"Let's go." Dean took off again with Cas in tow. He definitely had plans for this week.

They spent the first night walking to nearby casinos and trying their luck. Dean was cleaning out everyone at the poker table while Cas liked playing the slot machines and not really making any money but he didn't care. Soon they moved on to another casino and then a bar before stumbling back to the hotel in the early morning hours laughing and drinking before collapsing in bed and falling asleep.

The next few days went about the same. Dean had won almost a thousand dollars from various places at the poker tables and Cas watched with sympathy as drunk after drunk tried to join in with the thought that they could be the one to beat him.

On the fourth night they were at a nearby bar enjoying Dean's earnings for the night. They were both drunk and getting more comfortable with their PDA. Dean was currently snuggled up against Cas in a booth kissing his neck while Cas had his hand, hidden by the table, down Dean's jeans.

"Cas, you know," Dean was a little breathless as Cas worked him, "we haven't even had sex here yet in that huge," he gasped as Cas twisted his wrist, "awesome bed at the hotel." Dean gave a nip to Cas's neck.

Cas hummed. "We should fix that." Cas's voice was low and gravelly in his current drunk and aroused state. His hand continued to stroke Dean, who was close to losing it.

Dean laid his head on Cas's shoulder and tried to catch his breath. "Cas, you should stop if you want to finish this in the hotel." Despite his words, Dean was thrusting slowly into Cas's hand.

Cas smiled wickedly and lifted Dean's face with his free hand. "That's not what you really want," Cas leaned into Dean and whispered into his ear, "is it?" Cas took Dean's earlobe between his teeth and gently bit into the soft flesh. Dean shuddered and grabbed Cas's arms. Cas sucked his earlobe into his mouth and ran his tongue along the bottom, moving his hand a little quicker.

Dean screwed his eyes shut and gasped against Cas's neck. He was trembling from the sensations the other man was sending through him. Cas released his ear and moved his lips to his neck and kissed him on the overheated skin. Dean was close and he knew it would all end if Cas did anything else.

Cas moved up Dean's neck leaving soft kisses before nuzzling his ear. If the painful grip Dean had on his arms was any indication, Dean was definitely close. Cas smiled and lightly licked into Dean's ear. Dean groaned and thrusted forward. Cas ran his tongue in a circle just inside Dean's ear again and Dean gripped him tighter and moaned his name as he came over Cas's hand. Cas wrapped an arm around Dean and kissed his temple as he came back down off his orgasm.

Dean held Cas's face and pulled him into a deep kiss. Cas slipped his hand out of Dean's pants and grabbed a napkin off the table to wipe his hand. Dean kept hold of Cas and gasped for breath. He leaned in for another kiss which Cas returned. He then pulled back, "Dean, why don't you get us another round."

"Really?" Dean leaned back. "You sure you want more? I think we're both good and walking will be almost dangerous for me right now." He felt his legs shaking.

"Yeah I'm sure." Cas smiled.

Dean shrugged. "Okay, but don't pass out on me." Dean slid out of the booth and stood on unsteady legs, moving slowly toward the bar.

After a couple more drinks, the two of them left the bar arm in arm. They were about a block away when Dean stopped and leaned against the hotel wall they were in front of. "What's wrong?"

Dean smiled and took Cas's hands. "Nothing." Cas moved towards him until he was leaning against him. "Nothing at all." Dean's eyes were glazed over from alcohol and bliss as he looked into Cas's too clear blue eyes. "You're beautiful, Cas." Dean ran a hand over Cas's cheek. "I wish we could stay here forever. Like this together." Cas leaned into Dean's hand with a sad smile. "Of course we would have to pull Sam out of the woods at some point." Cas laughed lightly.

"I wish it could be this way too." Cas covered Dean's hand with his and frowned. "But you know it can't. The evil of the world would always find us."

Dean frowned. "Way to bring me down, man." He pushed off the wall and swayed with a sudden dizzy feeling. He leaned his forehead on Cas' to center himself. Cas held his hips and they stayed there a moment enjoying the intimacy and quiet despite the loud rumble of the city around them. "I love you, Cas."

Cas smiled and pulled Dean closer. His breath ghosted against Dean's lips, "I love you too, Dean." Dean closed the space between them and kissed Cas in a tender motion that made Cas's heart swell with emotion. Dean wrapped his arms around Cas's neck and pressed his body against him.

They both ignored the grumbling drunks who had to navigate around the kissing couple standing in the middle of the sidewalk. They couldn't hear or register anything past each other in that moment. Time itself seemed to slow. When they broke apart, Dean laughed quietly. "What?" Cas tilted his head.

"Cas," Dean's eyes sparkled with a look that Cas had never seen, "marry me."

His mouth fell open in surprise, "Excuse me?"

Dean held Cas's shoulders and smiled, "Marry me, Cas. We're in Vegas right? Let's just do it."

Cas tried to see if Dean was joking for some reason, but he just saw genuine hope and love in his eyes. He also knew how drunk they both were. "Dean, I think we should sleep on that and see if you still want to ask me that in the morning."

Dean's face fell. "Come on, Cas. We've been friends for years. I've loved you for most of that time and I know you did too." Cas couldn't deny that and Dean knew it. "I want to marry you."

"Dean." Cas knew this could be bad in their current state, but it's not like Dean was lying. Before he could protest Dean fell to one knee in front of him and took his hand. "Dean?"

"Cas, former angel of the lord, one who raised me from damnation and best friend that I have ever known, will you honor me beyond what I deserve and marry me tonight?"

Cas felt tears form in his eyes. How could he turn that down? He loved Dean, he wanted to be with him forever and had every intention of doing so. Why not make it official? "Get up." Cas pulled Dean up to his feet. He looked nervous. "Dean Winchester, I hope you know what you're asking for." Hope shined in Dean's eyes. Cas looked around and easily spotted a chapel in walking distance. Dean saw it too. As if thinking the same thing, both men turned and headed toward the small wedding chapel.

Dean woke up with a knot in his stomach and a headache. Cas was curled around his waist and sleeping quietly. Dean rubbed his eyes and tried to blink away the blurry vision. He looked at the small clock beside the bed. It was 2:30, Dean tried to remember when they had gotten home last night. When it didn't come to mind, he closed his eyes and decided to relax back into bed and relish the feeling of Cas beside him. He rubbed the man's back, earning him a content noise. It was then that he felt something different. He lifted his left hand and saw an unfamiliar gold ring on his ring finger. What the…?

"Oh God!" Dean shot up, pushing Cas over in the process. Last night came flooding back. Now he knew why he had a knot in his stomach. He had married Cas last night. "Oh God." Dean looked at the ring and looked down at Cas, who had a matching ring on his hand.

Dean scrambled out of bed and felt panic rise in his chest. He looked at his sleeping…husband, holy shit. He tried to think back as to what possessed him to marry Cas all of the sudden. Sure he loved him and wanted him around but marriage was never really something he thought was in his future anymore. Cas stirred on the bed. Dean quickly ran into the bathroom. He leaned over the sink and took a few breaths. He just had to calm down. This was Cas. It could have been worse. At least he married someone he wanted to be with. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing. He just didn't think it would ever happen. Dean ran cold water over his hands and threw some on his face, trying to relax and cool off. He could do this. It would be okay.

Sam then flashed through his mind. Dean groaned. Dammit, he got married and hadn't even told Sam. Sam was gonna be pissed when he finds out he didn't get to see the wedding. Dean wished he could even remember the wedding himself. This was a bunch of crap, he didn't expect or remember his wedding.

With a sigh Dean left the bathroom. Cas was sitting on the bed staring at his ring. Dean froze. Cas looked up and could clearly see the panic in Dean's eyes. He closed his eyes and lifted his left hand. "Please tell me you know what happened?"

Dean swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah," his voice cracked, he cleared his throat, "I remember." Dean stood like a stone at the foot of the bed. Cas nodded and dropped his hand.

"You regretting it yet?" Cas kept his eyes down as if he thought Dean would demand an annulment.

"No." Cas looked up. "I'm just adjusting." Dean gave a nervous smile.

"Then why do you look like you're about to bolt any second?"

"I'm not." Cas didn't believe him. "I'm not." Dean moved around the sit on the side of the bed next to Cas. "Cas," he reached out to take Cas's hand, "I don't regret it. I love you and I know that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life. I just wish it had been under different circumstances. You know, one that was planned." Dean traced Cas's ring with his finger.

"I guess this happens a lot here, complete strangers get married suddenly."

"But that's not us, Cas. We've known each other for years. We've been through so much together. I would have rather done this in a nice place, with Bobby and Sam there." Dean groaned again and covered his eyes. "Sam is gonna be so mad that he wasn't there."

Cas smiled. "I'm sure he'll be happy that you're happy."

"I don't even remember what happened." Dean fell to lie back on the bed. He covered his eyes.

"Here, look at this." Dean looked to see Cas holding his phone over him. Dean took it and looked at the small screen with a picture of them at the chapel. "We must have asked them to take it." They were both looking at the camera with wide grins and blurry eyes.

Dean clicked to the next picture where they were embracing and kissing. Dean was dipping Cas. He smiled. He handed the phone back.

After putting the phone on the side table, Cas crawled over to lay over Dean. He kissed Dean deep and slow, making him arch off the bed and wrap his arms around his neck. Cas brought a hand up and weaved his fingers through Dean's hair. Dean moaned into their kiss. Cas slid his knee between Dean's and pushed up to break their kiss. Dean bit his lip and smiled. "Does this mean we're on our honeymoon?"

Cas laughed. "I guess so. We still have two days right?"

"Yeah." Dean leaned up to kiss Cas again. "I'm guessing we used the bed last night?"

Cas smiled. "Yes. You don't remember?"

"I wish I could."

"It's okay." Cas rubbed Dean's scalp. "I'll help you jog your memory." He kissed Dean again. "How about we just stay in today. Order some food up and enjoy this nice soft bed." Dean hummed in agreement as Cas kissed him with more force.

They did just that, spending hours talking about the night before, pieces were finally filling in for both of them, eating room service, and breaking in the bed. They had also decided that Cas had taken Dean's last name as Cas didn't really have a last name anyway. It wasn't until it had grown dark that Dean remembered that he should probably tell Sam about what had happened. He pulled out his phone to call his brother with news that would probably send Sam reeling.

At that moment, Dean got a text from Sam telling him to meet him in his Fed suit a few blocks away. Dean and Cas suited up and headed out wondering what had pulled Sam away from camping that required suits. Both of them had a bad feeling when they pulled up to a chapel. They shared nervous looks as they got out of the car and walked through the front door.

Dean pulled out his gun when the lights started to flicker. Cas was behind Dean waiting for something to jump out as Dean reached for the door in front of them. The door flew open and a suited Sam appeared. "Dean." Sam looked past Dean. "Cas. Come on in. You won't need that." Sam pushed Dean's gun down.

Dean looked lost as Sam pulled both of them into the chapel and pinned pink flowers to their jackets. "So, what's the pretext? Are we wedding crashers? We looking for some kind of siren or what?"

Sam chuckled. "No, nothing like that. So, um…a little sudden, but life is short so I'll keep this shorter." Sam put a hand on both their shoulders. "I'm in love and I'm getting married." A smile lit up his face.

Cas and Dean gave each other a shocked look. Dean opened his mouth but closed it before speaking. Sam looked confused. "Say something, like congratulations."

Dean looked like he might be sick. "Um, what?"

Before Sam could answer, a bridal march started from the small keyboard beside them. A woman in a white dress and veil walked through the door.

"What the hell?" Dean still couldn't believe this. Obviously Dean and Cas weren't the only ones with a big surprise.  
The woman stopped in front of Sam and he lifted the veil to uncover her face. Cas didn't recognize her but Dean started stuttering. "Becky?"

"Dean," the petite blonde smiled, "I'm so glad you're here." She looked over to Cas. "And you must be Castiel." She stepped around Sam to shake his hand. "I've heard so much about you." Cas shook the girl's hand and smiled. She seemed nice enough but Dean looked like he was about to kill someone.

The ceremony was short thankfully because Dean looked more murderous by the second. Cas squeezed his hand to try and calm him but he didn't seem to notice. When it was over, and the four of them were alone in the chapel Dean started pacing in front of the newlyweds. "How," Dean had almost growled the word before covering his mouth, he gave a fake smile, "how did this happen?"

Sam smiled, "Short version. We met, we ate, and talked, and fell in love, and here we are."

Dean laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, I guess I'm all caught up."

Cas stepped up beside Dean and laid a hand on his arm. "Sam, I'm glad you're happy but who exactly is she?"

Becky laughed. "I'm Sam's biggest fan." Cas saw Dean tense up beside him. "I've read all of the Supernatural books and met Chuck and everything." She laced her fingers with Sam's. "Then a few years ago I met him and I've never been so happy until this moment." Sam smiled and looked at her with sparkling eyes. "Sam has told me all about you." She looked at Cas with wide eyes. "I can't believe you were actually an angel." She giggled. "Of course you're not now but…"

Dean interrupted, "Okay, you know what Sam, ignoring everything have you forgotten the average life span of your hookups?"

"Yeah, but…"

Becky cut him off, "But if anyone knows that, it's me. I mean, I've read every book. So, open eyes you know? Open eyes." Becky looked at Sam with starry eyes.

Dean turned to Cas. "I'm gonna be sick." He gripped Cas' arm in frustration.

"Dean look it's simple, if something good's happening I have to jump on it now, today period."

"Okay, Dead Poet's Society, fine. No offense," Dean nods to Becky, "but did you make sure she's even…"

"Salt, holy water, everything." She held out her arm showing a small cut from a silver knife. "Not a monster, just the right girl for your brother, that's it."

Dean's grip tightened on Cas. The man who married them walked back in and handed Becky a packet. "The bill."

"Oh, I got it." Becky grabbed her purse and stood up. "You two do your brother thing." She walked off with the man.

Dean stared after Becky blankly before flailing in anger. "Really?! Superfan99?"

Sam put his hands up. "Dean, look honest to God I had the same opinion of her as you do but we got past the whole book thing and I found out that she's great and I was the dick."

"Yeah, speakin of the whole book thing, Becky randomly shows up during Vegas week?"

Sam laughed. "Yeah."

"Yeah." Dean nodded.

Sam's face fell. "Okay, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying maybe she knew you were going to be here. Maybe Chuck wrote about it?"

"You're paranoid."

"And you're in love? It's been four days, man."

"You know what," Sam stood and picked up Becky's veil, "how about this, Becky and I are gonna go up to her place in Delaware. Why don't you try to wrap your dome around this, get a little supportive, and then give us a call?" Sam clapped his shoulder and looked at Cas. "What about you, Cas?"

Cas gave a small smile. "As long as you're happy, Sam, I'm happy." He looked at the girl as she pulled her phone out of her purse. "Stranger things could happen right?" He looked pointedly at Dean.

"Thanks, Cas." He gave him a short hug. As he turned to leave Cas pulled Dean close.

"Are you gonna tell him?"

Dean furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Sam who was standing behind Becky. "Why, he didn't tell us about Becky."

"At least he told us before the wedding." Cas pleaded silently with a look. "He should know."

"Fine." Dean licked his lips and straightened. "Sam." Sam turned back with a sour look. Dean took a few steps forward. "I need to tell you something. We both do." Dean looked back as Cas stood beside him.

"Okay."

"Last night, after a lot of drinking," Dean's heart started to speed up. He didn't know why he was nervous. At least he hadn't married some psycho fan. "Cas and I," Dean took hold of Cas's hand, "decided to," he lifted their hands up to show their rings, "get married."

Sam's mouth fell open. "What?" He looked at their hands and back to their faces in shock. "And you're just telling me now? How was this not the first thing you said?"

"You seemed preoccupied."

Sam looked between them and finally smiled. "Wow, it's about time." He pulled Dean into a tight hug. "I was starting to think you would never do it." He let Dean go and pulled Cas into a hug.

"Sorry you weren't there, Sam."

"It's okay, Cas." Sam smiled wide. "Can you believe it? We got married within a day of each other." He looked at Dean.

Dean shook his head. His sarcastic tone wasn't missed, "It's just freakin wonderful."

Sam's face fell. "Okay, well congrats you two." Sam turned and led Becky out the front.

Dean let out a breath. "This is so not right."

"What's wrong with Becky? She seems really devoted to Sam and Sam looks happy."

"No, you don't know her, Cas. Something isn't right."

They headed out to the car as Dean left Bobby a message about the current situation. Both marriages included. They went back to the hotel and packed up and headed off to Delaware that night. They drove straight through the night and managed to catch up to the newlyweds as they pulled out of a local bar.

Dean and Cas went in to see what they had done inside and to grab some lunch. While they sat at the bar, Dean saw a headline in a local paper that caught his eye. A local lottery winner had just recently been killed by a bad driver.

Cas read through the story as they got back in the car to find a motel to stay in. "You think this is a possible case?"

"Could be." Dean started the car and pulled onto the road. "There was a more recent death too involving a baseball player who advanced quickly and then suddenly got his face smashed in by a ball pitching machine."

"Okay." Cas folded up the paper and set it on the floor. "Dean, I think you should go talk to Sam." Dean rolled his eyes. "I know you're not a fan of Becky, but she's married to your brother so…"

"Hey, you think maybe she's part of it too?"

"What?"

"Think about it. A couple people get a dream or wish fulfilled and then suddenly die?"

Cas understood now. "Becky doesn't seem like the type."

"Anyone can be the type if offered the right thing. You would know that."

Cas remembered his deal with Crowley. Yes, even angels could be swayed to deal with demons. "You think there's a crossroads demon in town?"

"I don't know. The timeline doesn't really fit that."

"We could see what Sam thinks."

Dean sighed. "Fine."

"This is stupid." Dean was holding a waffle iron with a big red bow on it.

"It is not. You need to show Sam you support him."

"But I don't support this." He gestured to the door to Becky's apartment.

"Baby steps, Dean." Cas rang the doorbell.

Sam opened the door after a few seconds and looked surprised to see them standing there. Dean held out the waffle iron. "Me being supportive. Congratulations to you and the misses." Sam took the box from Dean.

"Thanks."

"It's a waffle iron. Nonstick. You just uh," he gestured with his hands before shrugging, "actually I don't know how to use it." Dean nodded. "So we good?"

Sam shrugged. "We're good."

"Good," Dean walked past Sam, "cause I'm sniffing a case in this town." Cas walked in and Sam shut the door behind him.

"Our first thought was crossroads demon," Becky's voice carried through the small apartment, "but there's that ten year time frame for collecting souls."

Dean and Cas turned to see Becky in the next room. Sam walked in placing the waffle iron on a small table by the wall. "You're working this case together?"

Sam laughed. "Yeah, I know right? I guess all those books really paid off."

Dean looked at Becky. "Listen cookie, I don't know what kind of mojo you're workin, but believe me I will find out."

"Dean, that's my wife you're talking to."

"You're not even acting like yourself, Sam."

"How am I not?"

"You married Becky Rosen!"

"What are you saying?" Becky stepped forward. "That I'm a witch or a siren? Did it ever occur to you that we're just happy?"

"Come on, Sam." Dean held his arms out in desperation.

"You know, Dean, I could be saying the same thing about you."

"What?"

"You married Cas."

"That was completely different!"

"Not really. Dean, I didn't think you would ever marry anyone. Your marriage was just as sudden as mine."

"Sam," Cas stepped in front of Dean, "it's true that the marriage was sudden, but Dean and I have been close for years. You know that. Our situations are completely different, nothing you and Becky shared the past four days can compare to what Dean and I have."

Dean felt a swell of pride in Cas right now. He knew he was right and Dean was proud to call Cas his husband. Sam seemed a little thrown off by Cas's statement. Dean used that as an opportunity. "Listen Sam, guy wins the lotto, guy hits the bigs. Obviously, people's dreams are coming true in this town. Don't you think this is a little bit of a coincidence?"

Sam lifted a finger. "You know what, Dean, what Becky and I have is real. If you can't accept that, that's your problem not ours."

"Are you kidding?"

"Sam, I'm not an expert with relationships, but four days doesn't seem like time enough to develop a 'real' relationship." Cas was beginning to get suspicious at Sam's lack of ability to see the possible connection Becky had with what was happening in town.

"Maybe she's part of it. Because, for whatever reason, you're her dream. If you really do care about her, I'd be worried. Because people who do get there little fantasies or whatever seem to end up dead pretty quick." Dean turned to leave with Cas right behind.

"You know, I went after her. Maybe that's what's bugging you." Dean stopped. Cas didn't need to see his face to know that he had an angry look of wanting to punch his brother. "I'm moving on with my life without you." Dean turned to face Sam. "I mean, you took care of me and that's great but I don't need you anymore."

Cas gave a disbelieving look. Sam would never say that. He looked at Dean and saw the pain written on his face. Dean nodded and turned to leave. Cas was glad to see Sam deflate slightly under the disapproving glare he was throwing at him. He then turned to follow Dean out of the apartment.

Dean was a little too silent for the drive back to the motel and Cas was nervous for the fallout. They picked up a new paper on the way and read a headline for a new CEO being promoted over more qualified and longer serving employees. They decided to check it out. Dean was not happy to see Sam and Becky coming out of the CEO's office right before they were about to go in.

The four of them met outside the door. Becky gave Dean a glare before walking off. Dean rolled his eyes. "So?"

"So, there's no point in going in there the guy's clean."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Becky grilled him like a pro." Sam smiled fondly.

"If you say so, Sam."

Sam nodded and walked off to meet Becky. "We're still going in there right?"

Dean smirked. "Of course we are. I don't trust Becky with anything, or Sam right now for that matter."

They went in and found out that it wasn't the CEO but his wife that had the big dream for him to be top dog. They had tried to warn her but she shrugged them off and threatened to call security. She was much easier to talk to after Dean saved her from a falling chandelier. They found out that she had indeed made a deal with a demon for her husband's promotion. Now Dean was positive that Becky was in trouble. Dean and Cas left for Becky's, hopefully the psycho hadn't hurt Sam in any way.

They found the apartment empty. Becky had left her computer open though. Showing her Twitter page that said she and Sam were going off for a romantic honeymoon. Dean saw a picture of Becky in front of a cabin in the woods. "That look romantic to you?" Dean took the picture out and read the location name on the back. They left for the cabin to find Sam.

When they busted through the door Dean almost shot Becky right there for the state he found Sam in. He was tied to the bed in a t-shirt and boxers. Apparently her love potion had run out and the demon she was talking to started demanding payment. Sam told him he had a plan.

It turns out that a crossroads demon had been making deals and Becky had been the next target. He had offered to make Sam love her for 25 years in exchange for her soul. She said he had given her time to think.

She left to meet him with a plan to trap him in a devil's trap they set up before she got there. It had worked. The demon was trapped and helpless, or so they thought. The demon they had trapped was just the salesman. The one arranging the accidents a week later had shown up and freed his partner.

Cas had been knocked hard into a wall and was currently seeing stars as Dean and Sam were being suffocated by the demons. Becky, who had returned after Sam had told her to run, killed the demon attacking Sam. Sam threw the knife to Dean, who then got the salesman to let him go.

He backed off, Dean held the knife against his throat. Cas stood up and helped Sam from the floor. "Oh, crap."

"Hello, boys." Crowley's voice surprised everyone. They all turned to see the King of Hell. Dean held the knife close to the demon's throat. "Sam, Dean, and," Crowley squinted, "Castiel is that you?" The demon laughed. "Well I see that whole God thing didn't work out so well for you. Human huh?" Cas set his jaw in anger.

"You're Crowley!" Becky sounded as awestruck as she had been with Sam.

Crowley looked at her with mild interest. "And you're…well, I'm sure you have a great personality." Crowley moved forward.

"Ah, one more step and I Columbian neck tie your friend here." Dean dug the knife into the demon's neck.

"Please, don't let him get off that easy."

"Sir?" He sounded genuinely scared. "I don't think that you…"

"Oh I understand exactly what you've been doing. A little birdie named Jackson sold you out." The demon looked to his fallen partner. "He mailed all the juicy d's to my suggestion box. I assume that's my whistle blower. Shame, he had a future. Unfortunately, you don't." He looked with disgust at the demon in Dean's arms.

"I was just…"

"We have one rule. Make a deal, keep it."

"Well, technically I didn't…"

"The reason we don't call our souls in early, consumer confidence. This isn't Wall Street, this is Hell. We have a little something called integrity. If this gets out who'll deal with us? No one, then where are we? You stupid, short sighted little prat. Now," Crowley looked at Dean, "hand the jackass over. I'll clear every deal he's made."

"What're you gonna do with him?"

"Make an example of him. Fair trade right? We all go our separate ways no harm done."

"What out of the goodness of your heart?" Sam didn't think Crowley would ever be that generous.

"Years of demons nipping at your heels, haven't seen one for months wonder why?"

"We've been a little busy."

Crowley looked at Dean and Cas. "Hunting leviathan, yes I know. That's why I told my lads to stay away from you meatheads. You meet that dick yet? Smuggest tub of goo since Mussolini. I hate the bastards. Squash them all please. I'll stay clear."

"Rip up the contracts first."

Crowley snapped his fingers. "Done and done. Your turn."

"No, no, no." The demon would rather be killed than be handed to Crowley. Dean moved the knife and shoved him into Crowley.

"Pleasure gentlemen." The demon disappeared. "And Cas," Crowley smiled, "congrats on finally landing your Winchester. Although Dean I'm surprised at you, finally settling down?"

"Don't you have Hell to run or something?" Crowley laughed as he disappeared.

The boys drove Becky home and Sam had annulment papers in hand and signed quicker than Dean thought possible.  
"Will I see you again?"

Sam sighed. "Probably not." Becky looked disappointed as she took a pen and signed the papers. She pushed them toward Sam. "Look Becky, what you said earlier. You're not a loser okay? You're a good person and you have a lot of…energy. So, you know what just do your thing and the right guy will find you." Becky gave a sad smile as Sam stood to leave.

The three of them left the apartment building. Sam dragged behind a little as they walked down the street. "I need a drink." Dean rubbed his sore eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Cas smiled. He reached out and touched Dean's arm. "You just need to sleep."

"Yeah, whatever." Dean caught Cas's hand and let their fingers slid across each other briefly. That was as much of hand holding he would allow in public. Ironic after what Cas had done to him in the bar that night, but holding hands seemed so much more intimate. Dean didn't know if he could do that just yet.

Sam smiled at the small touches his brother and Cas were stealing from each other as they walked. He truly was happy for them both. He hadn't exactly thought this would happen but he had hoped they would get closer while he was gone. He was sad he missed the wedding, but seeing them now made up for it.

When they got to the car, Cas stepped around Dean and stole a quick kiss on the back of Dean's neck, causing a shiver through Dean. Dean watched Cas like a hawk as he moved to the opposite side of the car and slipped into the back seat. Sam laughed to himself.

"Dean," Sam leaned on the car, "when I was all doped up I said some things I didn't mean. I obviously need you to watch my back."

"Yeah, but I know you don't always need me around. You're a grown up, Sam. You're a hike in a desert, douche grown up."

"Dude," Sam laughed, "I was camping. You camp."

"Whatever, hippie." Dean pushed Sam playfully before getting in the driver's seat. Sam shook his head and got in the passenger's seat. At the next motel stop, he would get a separate room. It didn't feel right to sleep in the same room as a married couple. Sam would never get used to that.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam had stuck to his decision and taken a separate room to give Dean and Cas some time alone when they weren't working. His only mistake was taking the room right next to them. That only lasted two days, as on the second night the sound of the newly married couple going at it rather loudly made it impossible for Sam to be in his room. Initially, he could drown it out with his headphones on his laptop but when the banging on the wall started Sam was done. He quickly grabbed his stuff and moved to a room on the opposite side of the motel.

There was one problem with this though. Sam was beginning to see Lucifer more frequently when he was apart from Dean or Cas. At first it had been small things, but it was starting to get more frightening.

Of course, they didn't stay in motels long if they weren't working. They were also starting to take shelter in abandoned houses whenever possible to help throw off the leviathans that were tracking them. Sam didn't need to worry about being alone that much.

With Dean around, Lucifer would be sitting in a corner making comments but with just Cas, Lucifer would be a little more aggressive. He would act out ways of killing or torturing Cas, sometimes creating a screaming dying Cas just to further screw with him. Sam was starting to lose track of reality again. Sam would always remind himself what Dean had told him back after all of this started. He knew Dean was real and Lucifer couldn't touch that, now he just needed that solidity with Cas.

Bobby had been working a job near to where they had been staying and decided to check in on them. The four of them moved to another crumbling house that surprisingly still had some electricity running to it. Sam and Dean were trying to hook up the lights with some grumbling from Dean, who was getting tired of all the constant moving, while Cas and Bobby set up lanterns inside. They were in New Jersey sniffing out a possible case.

Sam struck up the lights as Bobby headed out to his car to gather his pack and laptop.

"Well," Dean walked over to the dirty wooden table in the middle of the living room, "isn't this cozy."

"Yeah," Sam pulled off his gloves and laid them on the table, "well, Motel 6 just ain't leaving the light on anymore." Sam sat in one of the chairs at the table. Bobby came back in with his laptop in hand. Cas sat on the small couch by the window that was giving off a strange smell.

Bobby dropped his stuff on the table. "Well, I'm takin' a page out of Frank Devero's bible on this. Everybody's out to get ya, paranoia is just plain common sense."

"Weeks, guys. Weeks we've been living with cold showers, cold hot pockets, cold everything. This is the bottom that we're living in. You guys get that right?" Dean looked around at the others.

"How many big mouths are out there?" Bobby forever being the voice of reason. "They're running card traces and hunting us down God knows how many other ways. Now is not the time to be rolling our bedrolls out on the grid if we can help it."

The lights flickered sharply before shutting off completely. Apparently Sam and Dean's work hadn't been as good as they thought. They all looked around in surprise before Dean gave an irritated nod. "Great, that's just great."

Cas laughed lightly before standing up. "I'll start a fire." He pointed to the empty fireplace Dean was standing next to. Sam leaned forward and switched on the bright fluorescent light Bobby had put on the center of the table. Cas crouched by the fireplace and made quick work of starting a fire.

"This is stupid." Dean moved passed Bobby with a frustrated sigh. Cas had a nice fire going. He stood and moved back over to the couch. "Quality of life is crap," Dean picked up the cooler Bobby had brought in and moved to the open side of the couch, "we got purgatory's least wanted everywhere," he sat the cooler on the floor and sat on the open side of the couch, "we're on our third 'the world is screwed' issue in what three years. We've steered the bus away from the cliff twice already."

"Someone's gotta do it." Sam was used to this argument.

"What if the bus wants to go over the cliff?"

"You think the world wants to end?"

"I think that if we didn't take its belt and all its pins away each year that yeah the whole enchilada would have offed itself already."

"That doesn't really make sense, Dean." Cas didn't understand how the world could have a want of any kind.

Bobby chimed in, "Stop trying to wrestle with the big picture, son, you're gonna hurt your head." Dean rolled his eyes and took a can of beer out of the cooler by his feet and opened it with a huff. He then moved back and rested his head on Cas's lap and propped his feet on the armrest. Cas absently ran his hand through Dean's hair. "So," Bobby pulled out a chair across from Sam, "what's the guff?"

"Well, there has been a rash of sightings all over the Southern Pines Barrens. A strange fast moving human like creature. Locals even have a name for it." Sam handed Bobby a paper with a printed off picture.

"The Jersey Devil?" Bobby didn't sound sure of this. "I thought that was just tall tale crap."

"The sightings go back as far as two centuries. Some sightings gave it bat wings, others horns, a tail, and even a horse's head."

Dean laughed. "Yeah, but the sketch looks more like a Chewbacca head."

Cas looked down at Dean. "What's a Chewbacca?"

"Are you serious?" Cas nodded. "Wow, we need to have a Star Wars marathon as soon as possible." Dean took a drink. Cas still didn't know what they were talking about.

"Anyway," Sam tried not to smile, "it sounds like whatever it is has a body count." He handed Bobby a newspaper clipping.

"Camping high season harshed by human burrito?"

"Yeah, something strung a camper up in a tree and ate him alive right through his sleeping bag. His wife hasn't been seen either. Plus there have been four other missing persons reported in the last three weeks. State troopers are saying it's a rogue bear."

"When was the last time you saw a bear string up its own piñata?" Dean had closed his eyes and put his empty can on the floor.

"Something is out there in the woods." Bobby seemed to lighten up and sat back in his chair. "Hey, we're going on an honest to goodness wilderness hunt. I haven't used my 30-30 in a while."

Dean shifted on Cas a little. "Okay, Davy Crocket, that'll have to wait till tomorrow after our suit and tie dance." Dean brought a hand up to stroke Cas's arm. "We need to make sure this isn't just some back woods crack head who likes to kill glampers."

"What the Hell is a glamper?" Bobby looked at Dean.

"Sam." Dean settled himself more into Cas's lap to let Sam explain to Bobby.

"High end campers. TV, AC, WiFi, back to nature, zero inconvenience."

Bobby's eyes were wide in disbelief. "That's idiotic."

"Yeah, some people just don't know how to live."

"Well, I guess we should get a little shut eye before tomorrow, huh?" Bobby stood up and wondered over to the staircase. "Hopefully there's a good place to sleep up there."

"Good luck with that. I think I'm good here." Dean called over.

Cas smiled. "I'll be alright."

"'Kay." Bobby headed up the stairs to find a place to sleep a couple hours.

Sam watched his brother and Cas on the couch for a brief moment before standing up. "I think I'll try to sleep a little too. Night, guys." Sam waved and headed up the stairs.

Dean cracked open an eye to make sure Sam was gone before he reached up and pulled a compliant Cas down to a kiss. Cas kept a hand in Dean's hair, lightly grabbing a handful as they kissed. He kept his face close as they pulled apart. "Dean?"

"Hm?" Dean kept his eyes closed as Cas gently massaged his head.

"Have you noticed how Sam is acting differently recently?"

Dean opened his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Cas leaned back a little. "He's quiet."

Dean shrugged. "He's always quiet."

"But something's different. He seems almost scared, at least when I'm around him." Dean seemed to consider this with worry in his face. "Do you think maybe it has something to do with Lucifer?"

"Don't you think he would have told us if it had gotten worse?"

"I don't know." Cas sat back against the couch. "I'm worried that he's trying to not alarm us but he needs help." Cas bit his lip and remembered all the terrified looks he would get from Sam before he turned away or made an excuse to leave the room. He thought of the couple times he heard Sam shouting at an empty room when he thought no one was around.

Dean could see Cas worrying. He sat up and turned toward Cas. "Hey," he took Cas's hand, "he'll be okay. If he needs serious help, he will come to one of us. Don't get me wrong, I'm worried about him too but I think I've underestimated him for most of his life and I need to stop." Cas gave a small smile and gripped Dean's hand. "He's not a kid anymore. I think that's my problem. I always see my baby brother that I need to protect but he's stronger than I give him credit for."

Cas nodded. "He does tend to surprise everyone with what he can withstand." Cas looked at Dean, relief in his eyes. "Between the two of us and Bobby, Sam will always have someone making sure he doesn't go too far off the bend I guess, right?"

"Yeah." Dean smiled. "Here," Dean pushed Cas's shoulder, "scoot." Cas leaned back and lifted his feet on the couch while Dean crawled over him. After some adjusting they both managed to fit comfortably on the small couch wrapped in each other's arms. It didn't take long for them to fall asleep.

The next morning Cas and Bobby went to the coroners to look at the "human burrito" leftovers while Sam and Dean went to question the Ranger who had found the body. Bobby and Cas met up with the brothers at Biggerson's.

"So?"

"We took a look at the cadaver, what was left of it, not a happy camper. Don't have any stats on the Jersey Devil, but…" Bobby glanced at Cas.

"We don't think it was the leviathans. The bites were too small."

"They also still had their hearts so it's probably not a werewolf and a Wendigo don't leave no scraps."

Sam and Dean nodded. Dean looked around the restaurant, "Lunch?"

Bobby sighed, "Starving."

A server walked past the four men. Dean turned to read his nametag. "Hey, uh," Dean checked the tag when the annoyed server stopped, "Brandon, can we grab a booth?"

"Hey," Brandon's voice was mocking and irritated, "douche wad, a hostess will seat you. Do I look like a freakin' hostess?"

The boys shared surprised looks. Dean scuffed, "Do you…wanna look…like a hostess?" Bobby rolled his eyes at the ever eloquent Dean while Sam and Cas tried not to smile. The server glared at Dean a moment before turning away and leaving.

Sam tapped Dean's arm. "That didn't really make sense what you said." Sam let a laugh slip as he talked. Cas was biting his lip trying not to laugh as Dean's huffed anger.

"What was that?"

"I sure hope we don't get Brandon's section." Bobby really didn't want to have to deal with the angry server.

Of course, none of them were that lucky. Brandon walked up with a tray of their food. He dropped Sam's salad in front of him, "Sidewinder soup and salad combo goes to Big Bird." Sam gave an offended surprised look. He set Dean's food down, "TDK slammer to Ken Doll." Dean gave him the same look Sam had. He put Cas's food on the table, "And another for pretty boy blue." Cas furrowed his brows and looked down at his dark blue suit. "And a little heart smart," Brandon put on a fake smile, "for creepy uncle." Bobby's eyes widened.

"What is your problem?" Dean was through with dealing with the overly rude server.

"You are my problem!" Brandon pointed at Dean and stormed off.

"Well," Bobby picked up his chopsticks from the table, "Brandon has his flare all up in a bunch."

Sam smiled. "Yeah, there goes his 18%."

"Anyway," Dean cut in trying not to think about the annoying server, "chief ranger, I don't think he believes in the Jersey Devil."

Sam nodded in agreement before jumping like he remembered something. "Oh by the way, did he seem a little stoned to you."

"Ranger Rick?" Dean raised his eyebrows. "Yeah. Definitely growing his own on the back 40 and smoking all the profits." Dean lifted his huge sandwich to his mouth and took a big bite.

Sam turned to Bobby, "He did seem to think there was something…"

Dean groaned, "Oh, that is good sandwich." He looked at Cas with wide eyes. "Dude," his mouth was full of food, "you need to try that now."

Cas looked at his food. He had ordered the same thing as Dean. Encouraged by Dean's reaction, Cas picked up his sandwich and took a bite. It didn't take long for Cas to realize this had to be the best thing he had ever eaten. "Wow, that is good."

"Right?" Dean took another mouthful off his sandwich.

Bobby looked at Dean's plate. "What the hell did you two get?"

Dean turned the paper ad for the new sandwich. "New Pepperjack Turducken Slammer. Limited time only."

"Bunch of birds shoved up inside each other." Bobby shook his head, "Shouldn't play God like that."

"Don't look at me sideways from that," Dean pointed to Bobby's plate, "Chinese chicken geezer salad okay, this is awesome."

"It really is, Bobby." Cas couldn't stop shoveling in the massive sandwich. Dean was in the same boat.

Sam watched the two of them with mild amusement. "Alright, anyways the ranger did seem to think there was something out in the forest."

"Looks like its Safari time."

After finishing their lunches, the four of them geared up and headed out to see what was lurking in the woods of New Jersey. After a couple of hours of finding nothing out of the ordinary, Dean spotted a bloody body hanging from a tree.

"Didn't Ranger Rick say his partner was missing?" Dean looked back at Sam.

Sam followed the light at the end of Dean's rifle to see the body. "Yeah."

Dean nodded and looked back at the mangled ranger. "Looks like we found Phil."

They called in Ranger Rick and waited for him to show up. About twenty minutes later, he pulled up in his county vehicle. He stated toward the four men. "Special Agents, listen I got your call but I'm not sure I got what you were sayin'." Dean turned his gun up to shine a light on the body. Rick looked up and tilted his hat back a little. "Hey, I think we found Phil."

"That's what I said." Dean smiled.

Rick smiled and nodded. "I should probably call this in." He turned back for the car.

Sam's eyes widened a little. "Yeah, solid move, Rick." He shared a concerned look with Bobby. Cas and Dean were staring at the hanging body in the tree. The sound of crunching leaves and twigs made Sam and Bobby stand at attention. Something was sneaking around in the nearby trees.

"Ranger," Bobby pointed his gun toward the sound, "I think we've got company."

Rick looked up with a smile, "Yeah? Who's that?" Rick was then suddenly pulled back into a small tree beside his car. Cas and Dean then turned with their rifles up.

"Ranger!" Sam and Bobby charged forward with Cas and Dean following close behind. "Ranger Evans!"

It was silent for a moment. The four of them froze and formed a circle, looking for whatever had taken Rick. The noises then came from above their heads. They all looked up. "It's got him up in the trees." They all pointed up toward the tree in front of them. "Lights off." Bobby reached forward and turned off his spotlight.

"What?" Dean lowered his gun.

"Bobby, you really think that's a good idea?"

"How will we even know where to aim?" Cas was still not very confident in his firearm usage.

"Shut up, shut off, and listen." They all turned off their lights and listened. Bobby was still aiming for the tree. They soon heard crunching and squishing that wasn't movement. "Damn thing is eatin' Rick."

"Man," Dean sighed, "I liked Rick." The others gave him a strange look. Cas seemed to consider something.

"You know, I didn't know him much but I did too." Cas and Dean shared a nod and sad look. Bobby and Sam shared a worried glance. Rustling brought Bobby's attention back to whatever was eating the ranger. He closed his eyes and listened. After a few seconds, Bobby shifted his gun slightly and fired off a shot. The others flinched and a body fell out of the tree and landed with a thud.

"Wow, nice shot, Bobby."

"Seriously."

"We all got our gifts." Bobby took a step forward and crouched to get a good look at the thing that he had shot. He picked up his shells from the ground.

Dean stepped up and looked at the bloody arm the monster was holding. He looked up into the trees. "What about the rest of Ranger Rick?"

Bobby looked up. "He called in his 10-20. His own will find him. We got crap to do."

Sam, Dean, and Cas loaded the monster into Bobby's car and drove back to their safe house. They carried the body to the table in the living room.

Bobby stood by its feet. "Thing is built like a supermodel but it's strong that's for damn sure. Ran a full grown man up a tree in no time flat."

"But, it only took one bullet to bring it down." Sam moved over to stand by Bobby.

"And not even a silver bullet just a bullet bullet."

Cas moved over to Dean's side and looked the thing up and down. "What is it though? Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

Before anyone could answer, the thing shot up with inhuman speed and made all four of them jump back in surprise. It stood on the table, lifted its arms, and growled. All four of them drew their guns and opened fire. They all got off a few rounds before it fell back to land on the table. The shots echoed through the house.

"Whoa." Dean looked at Sam and Cas with an adrenaline filled smile. Cas let out a small quiet laugh.

"That will give you a heart attack." Cas put his gun back in his jacket.

Bobby stepped up to the table. "The first shot must have just stunned it."

Dean put his gun away and moved toward the now fully dead monster. "Alright, let's check its hulk pants for some ID." Dean searched through its pockets and pulled out a leather wallet covered in blood. "Ugh, that is just gonna ruin the leather." Cas stepped up behind him and nodded.

"Yeah, he should have kept it in a safer place."

Sam took the wallet from Dean who was turning it in his hands. Bobby gave them both questioning looks, "You two feelin' okay?"

Dean and Cas looked at each other and shrugged. "Yeah, I feel great."

Cas leaned his chin on Dean's shoulder. "Never been better." His wide smile seemed off but Bobby didn't push the issue.

"Gerald Browder," Sam was reading the ID in the wallet, "lived here in town, 5 foot 9, brown hair, blue eyes, and whoa," Sam held the wallet out like he had trouble reading something, "235 pounds."

"Whoa." Dean looked at the slim figure on the table.

Cas chuckled, "What?"

"Apparently he's lost a little pudge." Bobby watched Dean and Cas.

Dean smiled. "Maybe it's a lap band side effect." He laughed at his joke and looked around for reactions, only Cas seemed amused.

"What's a lap band?" Cas tilted his head, a small smile creeping across his face.

"Well, when someone is really overweight…" Sam cleared his throat loudly and shook his head when Dean looked back at him. "It doesn't matter."

Bobby had taken a small piece of wood from a nearby counter and stabbed it into one of the bullet wounds in the monster. When he pulled it back out, it was covered in some kind of gray goo. "What the hell? I think we ought to have a look under Gerald's hood."

Bobby and Sam went to work on cracking Gerald open and seeing what he was made of. Dean headed off to the other room to get a drink and Cas settled to watch on the couch he had slept in the night before. "God, his insides are swimming in this stuff." The monster's internals had seemed human enough, but the blood was replaced by the gray goo. Cas stood and looked around Sam to have a better view.

Dean walked into the room, pouring himself a glass of Scotch. "You guys hungry? I'm hungry."

Sam and Bobby stopped and looked at Dean like he had three heads. Cas popped his head out from behind Sam. "Yes, I'm starving." Their looks now turned to Cas who had moved over to take a glass from Dean that he had brought in for him.

The two of them drank in silence as Sam and Bobby kept digging through Gerald's insides. They found fresh human meat and a cat's head. Dean and Cas were getting impatient in the doorway. "You wanna go get something while they do this?" Dean pointed to Bobby as he pulled out the thing's oversized adrenal gland.

"I think we should wait a minute." Dean frowned. Cas smiled and ran his free hand on the back of Dean's neck. "We'll get something soon enough." Dean looked at Cas with longing. He stepped forward and kissed him hard. His free arm wrapped around his waist. Cas tightened his hold on Dean's neck and pressed closer. Dean forgot about his hunger and drank in everything Cas for right now. The two of them were so wrapped up in each other they didn't hear Sam right away.

"Hey!" They broke apart. "Could you at least pretend to be on a job right now?"

Dean's stomach growled painfully. Dean groaned, "Seriously guys, time for dinner?" Cas looked at them hopefully. Bobby and Sam looked irritated. Dean nodded and turned to leave, pulling Cas along with him.

After cleaning up, the four of them went back to Biggerson's to finally shut Dean up. Sam was on his laptop while Bobby was drinking some coffee and Dean and Cas were shoveling in another round of the TDK Slammer. Sam was reading off his screen, "Gerald Browder, 35, self employed, just a repairman. Disappeared 8 days ago."

"Well that explains all the people who got eaten in the past 8 days." Bobby took a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah," Sam leaned back, "question is what happened to him?" Bobby nodded. Sam looked at his brother and Cas, expecting some kind of input. They were both too engrossed in their sandwiches to pay attention to anything else. "Dean, so what do you think?"

Dean chewed his mouth full thoughtfully before shrugging. "I'm not that worried about it."

Cas shook his head. "It doesn't seem like it's really that big of a deal."

Bobby turned his head. "Excuse me?"

Dean laughed his mouth still full of food. "It's funny right? I could give two shakes of a rat's ass." Dean paused as he was about to take another bite. He looked at Cas. "Is that right? Do rats shake their ass or is it something else?"

Cas shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I don't know." Dean shrugged and took another bite. Sam furrowed his eyebrows and looked around the restaurant. It was then that he noticed something. Almost everyone there was eating the TDK Slammer and they seemed to be in the same state as Dean and Cas. He saw Bobby had noticed the same thing. Something was definitely up with the Turducken.

"Give me that." Sam reached forward and grabbed Dean's sandwich from his hands.

"Whoa, whoa, why?" Dean squealed like a toddler who had their toy taken from them. Sam put it down and turned to Cas. "Yours too."

"No!" Cas tried to grab it back but Sam turned his back to him. He inspected the sandwich.

"Some funky chicken in the TDK Slammer ain't there?" Dean gave Bobby an upset look while Cas tried to look around Sam's side.

Sam had one of the Slammers wrapped up to go while Bobby dragged the two upset boys to the car. When they got back to the house, they unwrapped the food. Cas and Dean were leaning against the counter with sour looks. "This is stupid. My sandwich didn't do anything. I don't know what you think you're going to find."

Bobby looked up at them, "There's something wrong with you two."

"Are you kidding?" Dean leaned against Cas. "I'm fine."

"Me too." Cas locked his arm around Dean's. "I feel really good actually."

"Yeah," Dean hopped up to sit on the counter, "we feel great. What's so wrong with that?" Sam and Bobby were leaning in close to look at the offending sandwich. "I actually haven't felt this good in months. Ever since the whole leviathan thing and Sam here losing his marbles."

"Maybe we just finally accepted everything that's been happening." Cas moved his hand to rest on Dean's leg.

"Even though Lucifer could be breaking down Sam's head," Sam stood up to throw a look at Dean, "I don't really care. You know what's better? I don't care that I don't care. I just want my damn Slammer back."

"At least you have one to get back." Cas pouted about his Slammer being left at the restaurant.

Sam rolled his eyes, "Guys, you are both completely stoned. Just like Ranger Rick was."

"Just like the dinner rush at Biggerson's. Everyone's lovin the Turducken." Bobby added.

Dean shook his head but then gave a look of horror as some kind of gray goo boiled out of his sandwich. Cas saw it too and was starting to think it was okay that they left his behind. "I think you pissed off my sandwich." Sam and Bobby saw the goo and stepped back from the table. Dean slid off the counter. "That's in me?"

"Well, half of it for both of you." Sam looked at the two of them.

"Does that snot," Bobby leaned closer to the sandwich, "look familiar to you?" The goo was the same stuff that had filled the monster in the woods.

"Okay so whatever turned Gary Browder into a pumpkin head," Sam glanced at Dean and Cas, "and is currently turning these two into idiots…"

"Hey, we're right here."

"Is in the Turducken Slammer at Biggerson's." Bobby finished for Sam. "It's in the meat."

Dean looked at the sandwich with a sick look. "If I wasn't so chilled out right now, I would puke."

Cas felt a little nauseous himself. "I think I actually might puke." Dean took a step away.

"Just point it that way." Dean pointed at Sam who gave him a glare.

"What are we going to do?" Sam turned away from his stoned brother.

Bobby shook his head. "We need to check out where Biggerson's gets their meat."

The four of them packed in the van Bobby had driven and went to see where the meat was coming from. Sam rode shotgun while Dean and Cas sat in the back. They hadn't even reached the restaurant before the couple had gotten drowsy and curled up to sleep. Sam sighed in relief. Maybe when they woke up they would be back to normal.

Cas was standing in an empty park. The sun was setting, casting a gold light across the deserted park. Cas looked around trying to figure out where exactly he was.

"It's the park from the town where Samhain was raised." A quiet voice spoke from behind Cas. "The place where it all began."

Cas turned to see who was speaking. He saw the small form of the prophet they had met not long after the raising of Samhain. "Chuck?" The man nodded. Cas turned back to the lonely park. "I'm dreaming." Chuck smiled. "Why am I dreaming about the park," Cas turned back to Chuck, "or you for that matter?"

"This is when everything started changing for you." Chuck crossed his arms and stepped toward Cas. "When you began to doubt and question. You confided in Dean right on that bench." Chuck pointed behind them at the small wooden bench.

"Okay, but I still don't understand why you're here."

Chuck sighed and frowned slightly. He looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I have something to confess." Chuck looked up to meet Cas's expecting eyes. "I'm not just a prophet. I came to you here because I need to ask you something."

"You came to me?" Cas took a step toward Chuck. "If you're not a prophet, what are you?" Chuck took a deep breath and searched Cas's eyes. "Chuck, who are you?"

"Something much more powerful. I pretended to be a prophet so I could watch and learn."

"What are you?" Cas was getting impatient. "An angel?" Chuck shook his head. "A pagan?" Chuck shook his head again. "Then what?"

"I'm sorry, Castiel." Before Cas could ask what he meant, Chuck began to glow with a bright gold light that rivaled the sun.

Cas's mouth fell open and he felt his body start to shake. He lifted his arms out to not be blinded by the holy light. Chuck stopped glowing before any damage could be done. Cas's heart was racing and his breath was coming in quick gasps. He recognized him now. His voice was a small whisper, "Father?"

A relieved smile lit up Chuck's face. "Yes."

After the initial shock, Cas began feeling anger rising in him. "It was you this whole time?" His voice raised, "The whole time?!" Chuck's smile fell. "I looked for you for a year and you were right next to me the whole time?!"

Chuck closed his eyes. "I couldn't let anyone know who I was. I wanted to tell you but you needed to make your own decisions, Castiel."

"What?" Cas was furious now. "I needed your help. We all did. You abandoned us when we needed you most."

"That's not true. I knew what was going on and I knew the apocalypse would be stopped. I also know everything you did and I was proud of you, I still am."

"But, why didn't you answer me when I prayed for your guidance. How could you have let all this happen? The leviathans, Raphael, even the apocalypse."

"I didn't let those things happen." Now Chuck raised his voice. "I let my angels use their free will and they made those things happen."

"Why? You know we don't know how to use free will."

"I thought you were changing." Chuck walked passed Cas and looked up at the slowly darkening sky. "It was here," he motioned to the park, "that I saw an angel, you, start to change and become more like humans. The beginning of what I thought was the change I had hoped for."

"You wanted angels to be more human?"

"I wanted you to make your own choices. You have all been soldiers for so long. I wanted you to understand the joys of freedom and free will." Chuck gave Cas a pleading look. "Why do you think I let you all come to Earth? Why I stationed some of you here? I wanted you to see how happy they were."

"You know as well as I do that angels don't truly feel any emotions."

"That's not true." Chuck held up a finger. "You did. Anna did."

"It wasn't the same. I understand that now. I thought I knew what it meant to feel something, but I know now how wrong I was." Cas felt his wedding ring. "I know how deeply humans feel and how wonderful it is, and how empty and cold angels are." Chuck nodded. "Why didn't you stop me?"

"When?"

Cas let out an exasperated noise. "I don't know, when I started working with Crowley, when I left Sam's soul in Hell, when I opened purgatory and released the leviathans. Take your pick."

"Did you not hear anything I just said about angels?"

"Yes, but I have single handedly destroyed the world. The leviathans are going to kill everything here and destroy everything you created."

"No." Chuck's tone was sharp. "They will not destroy this world." Chuck reached out and laid a soft hand on Cas's arm. "I'll make sure of that. Although," Chuck let his hand fall, "I don't think I'll need to worry about stopping them myself." He gave Cas a small knowing smile.

"Why did you leave?" Cas felt his shoulders slump in sadness. It was something he had asked many times but now he might actually get an answer.

"I'm tired, Castiel. I wanted to let my angels, you, take over. I knew it would cause a lot of changes and anger but I also knew heaven would be safe."

"Safe? You call the apocalypse and angels killing each other safe?"

"Everyone who died died for a reason. War always has casualties."

Cas shook his head. "Even Michael?"

"Michael is a good son. He was just following his orders but he still wants to bring on the apocalypse so he's staying where he is for now."

They fell silent while Cas absorbed everything. He closed his eyes. "You said," Cas's voice was tired and quiet, "you wanted to ask me something. Although there's nothing you don't know, what is it?"

"I don't know everything." Chuck smiled fondly. "The future is not written in stone. It changes with every choice we make, whether human, angel, or God. I see every possible scenario of every possible decision of every single person. I never know what choice will be made until you make it."

Cas tilted his head. "Okay."

"When I chose to take your grace, I saw all the possible outcomes. I honestly didn't expect you to survive." Cas looked up in surprise. "I saw one scenario where Dean jumped in after you and so many others where he didn't. I thought you would die. I'm glad you didn't." Chuck walked to stand beside the wooden bench. "Look at you now. Human, a hunter," Chuck looked at Cas's left hand and smiled, "married…to Dean. Which I completely support by the way." Cas let a smile show before he lowered his head. "What I wanted to ask you was," Chuck straightened, "I still have your grace and I'm giving you the chance to take it back and be an angel again."

"What, why?" Not that Cas didn't want it but he couldn't think of any reason for it to be offered to him.

"You earned your wings back as far as I'm concerned and I've lost my archangels." His voice sounded sad. "Heaven, as you can imagine, is in chaos. They need a leader."

"They need you." Cas hardened his voice a little. He had already tried to be Heaven's leader and it didn't turn out so well.

"They'll learn nothing if I just go up and fix everything. I've lost so many angels. I don't want to lose any more." After a short pause where Chuck stared at the bench, he looked up at Cas. "Here's the choice: you can take your grace back, you'll be a full blown angel again. Your human needs will disappear, you won't age or die, and you can be just as you were when you sat here," he pointed to the bench, "with Dean. You can stay married, however that would work between the two of you." Chuck moved to stand closer to Cas. "Or you can stay exactly as you are. Human, you'll grow and age, die, and know full well what it means to be human."

Cas's eyes widened. He hadn't expected anything like this to happen. "I could be an angel again?" His heart raced in excitement for the possibility of getting back everything he lost. He then had a sudden thought. "I could fix Sam."

Chuck nodded. "Yes, I suppose you could."

Cas smiled. He could make up for everything he had done to the Winchesters, he could protect them like he always had. His heart swelled with happiness at the thought. It was then that he remembered what he had just said about being human and how wonderful it was to feel. He would lose all that if he changed back.

Chuck saw Cas struggling internally with the decision and looked at his feet. "Castiel," Cas looked at him, "I feel compelled to tell you something before you choose. It might help, it might make it harder, but I want you to think about it. You've been human for a while now and I know you can think about this in a way that reflects not only your wants but how it will affect those around you and those you love." Chuck seemed to second guess going on before he spoke up, "Sam will be alright. It will take him some time, but he will recover. He's stronger than he gets credit for."

"Really?"

"Yes." Chuck smiled at Cas's relief and joy. "But," Chuck's smile fell slightly, "very soon someone close to you will be in serious trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"There's a good chance they won't make it."

"If I was an angel I would save them."

"Yes, and what would that mean?"

Cas thought about it. If he was an angel, he would save whoever it was but would he care that much? If they were seriously hurt or killed, how sad would he really be? But how could he let them die if he had a chance to stop it? He put his hands on his head and felt like he could scream. "Let me get this straight, you're making me choose between being a cold, heartless angel and save someone I love and being a human that means someone I care about could likely die?" Cas's eyes filled with tears. His voice cracked but rose in volume, "What kind of choice is that? What kind of," Cas spat out the next words, "father makes his son choose between something like that?"

Chuck put a hand on Cas's arm. "Castiel, think what it means to be human, to live as a human. Weak, painful," Cas felt tears fall down his face, "sad, short life, but loved, happy, being able to truly connect to others around you." Cas ran a finger over his ring again. "And remember what it means to be an angel. Strong, immortal, powerful, but unfeeling and cold, never understanding what it is to be human and to be truly loved."

Cas's head fell with a sob. He whispered, "No matter what I choose, I'll lose something." Cas pulled his left hand up to his chest, keeping his ring close to his heart. "What am I supposed to do?"

Chuck shook his head. "I wish I could help you, but this choice has to be yours and yours alone." Cas shrugged his hand off and started pacing in front of the benches. "You're one of the few creatures on this planet that has been human and angel. I know how hard this has to be for you."

Cas laughed bitterly. Neither choice seemed like an ideal one, but he had to pick one.

"Humans live on Earth between Heaven and Hell and are the only creatures that have a mix of both places. They experience all the glory and happiness of Heaven but are tortured and pained with all the force of Hell."

Cas ran a hand over his face, wiping the tears from his face and nodded. He knew what he wanted. He just hoped Dean could forgive him when he found out. Cas turned to Chuck with a determined look. "I know what it is to be human and an angel. I know what it is to be loved, and I wouldn't give that up for anything in all the universe."

"Even if it means the death of a loved one?"

"I would rather spend the rest of my life as a human, with all the pain and the sorrow that comes with it than to spend eternity as a cold shell of an angel."

"Are you sure? I won't make this offer again."

Cas stepped close to Chuck, channeling Dean, "You can keep my grace and shove it. I'll take being human anytime."

Chuck was shocked at the response but smiled anyway. "Alright." Chuck took a step away from Cas. "Well, Castiel Winchester, enjoy your human life."

"Will I see you again?"

"No." Chuck looked genuinely sad. "But I'll be around."

Cas's eyes snapped open and he let out a gasp as he woke up in the back of Bobby's van. Dean was sitting beside him with a cup of coffee in his hand. "You okay?"

Cas sat up and shook his head, trying to wake up. "Yeah," he looked out the van's windshield, "what's going on?"

"We're waiting to see what Biggerson's is doing with their meat."

"Hang on." Bobby sat up in the driver's seat. A car was pulling up to park next to the meat truck. Everyone watched as a man exited the car. Sam lifted binoculars up to see who it was.

"No." Sam dropped the binoculars to see if he was right with what he saw. "Edgar." He lifted the binoculars back up. Edgar was the leviathan that had burned down Bobby's house. They all thought he was dead after Dean dropped a car on him.

"Leviathans." Dean practically growled the word. Cas sat up more and looked at the man as he opened his trunk and pulled a man who had a bag over his head. "Son of a bitch."

"What the hell is going on?" Bobby turned to look at Sam.

"I don't know." Sam watched the bagged man go through the building's back door.

Cas was beginning to see what the threat could be that would possibly kill one of them sitting in the van. He wanted to tell them what had happened, especially Dean. He should know what had happened. He looked at Dean. He was twitching slightly, from the coffee he was guessing. After this was over, he would tell them.

"Cas?" Sam had apparently been trying to talk to him while he was lost in thought.

"What?"

"You okay?"

He felt Dean's eyes on him now. "Yeah, I'm fine. What did you say?" He rubbed the back of his neck, a sign that he was hiding something. Dean caught it.

"I want to circle the building to see if there are more leviathans hangin' around. You wanna come with me?"

"Sure." He felt like he needed to stretch his legs a little anyway and Dean's stare was making him itch. He and Sam left the van to scope out the surroundings.

The sun had come up and Dean and Bobby were waiting in the van for Sam and Cas. Dean was on his he didn't even remember what number cup of coffee. Sam called in to Bobby, "There's nothing happening out here at all."

"Okay, Sam. They're pretty dug in here, finish circling and head on back." Bobby turned off his phone. "How's your head?"

Dean took a drink from his mug. "I think the Slammer has pretty much worn off. Between that and the twenty cups of coffee, I'm nice and tense and alarmed."

"I wasn't talkin' about that."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Bobby, look don't get all Sigmund Freud on me now okay, I just got drugged by a sandwich."

"I'm talking about your new party line."

"What party line? I don't even vote."

"The world is a suicide case, we save it it steals more pills."

"Bobby, I'm here okay I'm on the case. What's the problem?"

"I've seen a lot of hunters live and die. You're starting to talk like one of the dead ones, Dean."

"No, I'm talking like a person talks when they've had it. When they can't figure out why they thought all this mattered."

"Oh you poor sorry…" Bobby stopped and shook his head in disbelief. "You're not a person."

"Oh thanks." Dean said sarcastically.

"Come on now. You tried to hang it up, to be a person with Lisa and Ben, but look at you now. Sure you've got Cas, but he's not exactly the prime example of a person either. He might be the only one more screwed up than you or Sam. Marrying a fallen angel in Vegas and then sitting in a van full of guns with some old coot is not person behavior, son. You're a hunter. Meaning you're whatever the job is you're doin' today. Now you find your reasons to get back in the game. I don't care if its love, spite, or a ten dollar bet. I've been to enough funerals, I mean it." Bobby tuned to look out the windshield. His voice calmed a little, "You die before me and I'll kill ya."

Dean sat reeling from everything Bobby said. Not wanting to show how affected he really was he kept his voice light, "Man, we need to scrape some money together and buy you a condo or somethin'."

The van door slid open, Sam and Cas stepped in. As Cas shut the door, Sam leaned over Bobby's shoulder, "Something's up."

Bobby lifted the binoculars up. A caravan of black vehicles pulled into the parking lot. A man in a suit stepped out of the last car.  
"I'll be a squirrel in a skirt. That's Dick freakin' Roman."

"Who's Dick freakin' Roman?" Dean looked at Sam and Cas for help and only got shrugs. Sam pulled out his laptop from his bag in the bag and quickly researched the name. They got tons of results. Turns out he was a popular politician and author that was famous for one of his books and his corporate takeovers. "Holy crap," they had watched one of the videos showing a news reel about Dick, "what the hell is that?"

"It's one of the top 50 most powerful men in America, Dean." Sam closed his laptop.

"Now it's all making sense. Remember when Crowley kept going on about hating Dick? I thought he was just being general."

"If the leviathan got to him," Bobby sounded concerned, "that means they're playing on a much bigger board than we were thinking."

"So what then? We can't exactly outgun them."

"We do have the element of surprise." Cas was still thinking about his conversation with Chuck and was not wanting any of them to go in, but he didn't have much choice.

"Which means we have a chance to figure out what these guys are really doing here." Bobby pulled out something from the seat behind him. It looked like a small satellite.

"Whoa," Dean turned to face him, "where'd you get that mother?"

"From Frank's personal big brother collection. Picks up vocal vibrations from window glass from half a mile. Time to figure out what these ugly bastards are up to." Bobby snapped the last piece of the contraption in place.

After a short discussion, Bobby headed off to a neighboring building's room to see what he could hear. About twenty minutes later, noting had happened. "Nothing is happening over here, Bobby, anything with you?" Sam was watching through the binoculars while Dean talked to Bobby on the phone and Cas worried behind Dean. He had a bad feeling. He shouldn't have let Bobby go by himself.

"Yeah, same here. I got…hold on, I got movement. High side, second floor, meeting room." They all turned their attention to that location.

There were a few minutes of silence. The three in the van couldn't see anything. "What's happening now?"

"Wait." Bobby paused for a few seconds. "Now I have officially seen it all."

Sam leaned over to the phone. "Bobby, what is it?"

"He's making the doctor eat himself."

"What?" Dean and Cas asked in unison.

"He's…" A loud thump sounded over the phone.

"Bobby? BOBBY!" Dean shouted then the phone cut off. The three of them exchanged worried looks before simultaneously jumping out of the van and running to where Bobby had been. They found all his equipment left on the ground but no Bobby. "They got him."

"Dean, there are at least four leviathans in there. We don't even know how to kill one."

A van caught Dean's eye. It was full of cleaning supplies. Dean smirked, "Well, it'll be quite a surprise when we bust through the front door won't it."

The three of them went back to the parking lot and emptied out the van while the driver was inside. They took their supplies back to the van. While Sam was sorting out the products with Borax, Cas pulled Dean off to the side. "Dean, are you sure we should do this?"

"Do what? Save Bobby?" Dean didn't understand how Cas could even ask. "We can't just leave him in there."

"I know, but…"

"No buts, Cas. We're getting Bobby out."

"Dean, you don't know how many of them are in there. This could be a suicide mission."

"Then Bobby won't be alone." The broken tone to Dean's voice caught Cas off guard.

Cas put a hand on Dean's arm. "I know how important he is to you, but I think we need to think about this for a second."

"We don't have time to think."

"Dean, I have a bad feeling about this. Please don't go in there." Cas gripped Dean's arm trying to make him understand how serious he was.

"What is it, Cas? You've been acting weird since you woke up."

He shook his head. "I don't have time to tell you, just trust me. Something bad is going to happen."

"Cas, something bad is gonna happen if we leave Bobby." They stared each other down with stubborn determination. But Cas knew he would follow Dean wherever he took him.

Cas lowered his eyes in defeat. "Fine, but please," Cas pulled Dean close, "be careful. I will not lose you. You hear me?"

Dean gave a small smile, "You'll watch my back right?"

"I'm serious Dean. I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you."

Dean cupped the side of Cas's face, "Don't worry. I'll be okay." Sam called that he was ready. "Let's go." Dean leaned forward and placed a short kiss on Cas's lips.

Cas said a silent prayer as he followed Dean to collect their weapons of Borax and snuck their way into the back of the building. They entered the storage room and were met by four leviathans. They sprayed their way through as the monsters screamed as their skin burned.

When they turned a corner, Dick himself showed his ugly face. He sent Cas and Dean flying before Sam set in on covering his face in cleaning fluid. It seemed to have a good effect, but Dick wiped his face and started toward Sam again. "Sam, that is not how we communicate from a place of yes." He had Sam backed up into a corner. "That was bracing, where'd you kids find this stuff?"

Cas and Dean managed to stand up and get back to Sam at the same time Bobby ran around a shelf with a gun in hand. He shot Dick in the back twice. Dick turned, "Hey! That's my gun." Dean screwed the lid off his cleaner and dumped the whole thing on Dick's head. He curled up, the sound of his skin sizzling filled the room.

"Go, go." Dean dropped the container and took off for the exit with the others following close behind.

"Would you stop it with that stuff?" Dick stood and looked at Bobby with a smile. He started after them.

The three boys got back in the van, Dean drove them up to the back door. "Where's Bobby?" Cas leaned out the window, feeling panic fill him. He should have been there by now. "There he is." Cas saw Bobby falling out the back door of the building.

Sam slid open the door to the van. "Come on, Bobby." Sam put out an arm. Bobby grabbed Sam's arm and jumped into the van.

Dick aimed his gun at the van. Bobby told them to go. Sam fell back as Dean hit the gas. He heard three shots go off as Bobby threw the door shut and fell back. Sam pulled himself up as Dean sped around the corner. "Son of a bitch." Dean was breathing hard. They had cut it way too close. "Glad you got in. Almost took your freakin' head off." The silence that met him made Dean nervous.

"Dean." Sam sounded shaken. Cas and Dean turned around. Bobby was on his back. Sam was leaning over him.

"What is it?"

"Dean, he's been shot." Sam's eyes were wide with terror.

"What?"

"Bobby." Sam tried to wake him up. "Bobby!" Sam saw the blood pouring out of Bobby's head. "Oh God, Dean. He shot him in the head. Drive faster."

Dean turned white and pushed the gas pedal to the floor.


	9. Chapter 9

"Bobby," Sam held up Bobby's head, "hold on."

"Is he dead?" Dean was gripping the wheel with white knuckles.

"I'm checking." Sam held a towel against the wound and checked for a pulse.

Cas felt his heart pounding. He hadn't thought Bobby would be the one to get hurt. He watched as Sam and Dean panicked.

"IS HE DEAD?!" Cas jumped at the outburst from Dean.

"JUST DRIVE, DEAN!"

"YOU'VE GOT TO TALK TO ME, SAM!"

Cas turned forward and closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. Dean pulled out his phone.

"He's breathing. He has a pulse." Sam sighed in a small relief and sat Bobby up more against him.

"Keep him upright." Dean was dialing the operator. "Stop the bleeding." He looked back at Sam.

"I'm not an idiot, Dean." Sam was panicked and scared and it came through in his voice. "I know first aid for a freakin' bullet to the head."

"I need the nearest trauma center." Dean sounded out of breath. Cas covered his eyes and turned away from Dean. He wanted to take back his decision. He wanted to save Bobby. "What's the address?!" After getting the address, Dean put the phone on the seat and pushed the gas pedal. "Hang in there, Bobby."

The van whipped around the next corner and sped to the hospital.

Bobby was taken into the hospital quickly by the attendants. The three of them followed close behind as he was rolled into a room and staff from all sides ran in to help. They stood helplessly in the doorway as the nurses worked to stabilize an unconscious Bobby. Sam stepped forward. "What's happening? Please just tell us…"

"Get them out of here." A doctor by Bobby's side waved a nurse over.

The nurse stepped away and pushed Sam back lightly. "Sir, you need to stay out of the way." She pushed all three of them through the doorway.

"He's our uncle." Dean pointed in with a worried look.

"You've got to stay back."

"What are they doing?" Sam looked close to running back to Bobby's side.

"We need to get him stabilized."

"When are you gonna take the bullet out?" Cas watched the staff work as Dean took a small step forward.

"If we can get the swelling down, if it's in a place we can get to, if…"

"If he even lives that long." Sam finished for the small nurse. Dean shot him a shocked look. She nodded lightly before pulling the privacy sheet closed in front of them.

Cas was standing close behind Dean, he laid a hand on his arm before Dean turned sharply toward Sam. "What do you mean, if he lives that long?"

"Dean."

"He's not gonna die, Sam." Dean shushed any further argument and pushed past Cas and walked off. Sam looked back at the room, tears forming in his eyes.

"How much of a chance does he have?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know if he'll make it this time, Cas."

About twenty minutes later, the doctor came out of the room and sighed. Dean had come back and was standing silently beside his brother and husband. He walked up to the group. "He's stable for now." Dean let out a relieved breath. "We just have to see." They all nodded and the doctor moved off.

Dean turned to look at Sam who was leaning on the windowsill behind him. Cas put a hand on Dean's shoulder and he turned red eyes to him and tried to give a smile. Cas put his forehead on his shoulder and wished he could do more to help. "Cas," Dean turned to him, "could you get me something?"

"Of course. What do you need?" Cas was eager for any way to help.

"Some coffee would be nice."

"Okay." Their fingers entwined briefly as Cas stepped back. He looked to Sam, "Can I get anything for you, Sam?" Sam shook his head. Cas nodded and walked off for the cafeteria.

When Cas came back, he found Dean standing in the hallway chewing on his nails. His eyes were hard and closed off. He could tell that Dean was trying to hold in everything he was feeling. He knows that he wanted to scream and shout and fight what was happening anyway he could. Cas moved to his side and stood silently for a minute before holding out his coffee. Dean took it with a small smile. "Thanks."

Cas nodded as he sipped his own cup. "Where's Sam?" Cas looked up and down the hallway.

"The chapel." Dean gave a bitter laugh. "For whatever good that will do."

"You might be surprised."

"What?" Dean looked at Cas.

"Nothing." Cas dropped his hand. "So, any news?" Cas nodded toward Bobby's room.

Dean shook his head. "No." He chewed his nails again. "I feel like I'm going nuts just standing here." Dean moved from the wall and paced in front of Cas. "We should have never left him. We should have all gone to the van together. Then maybe…" Dean closed his eyes and gave a sad smile. "Times like this make me wish you were still an angel." Cas looked up, a chill ran through his chest. "You could have fixed him." Dean ran his hands over his face before taking another drink.

"I'm sorry, Dean."

Dean opened his eyes. "Don't apologize, Cas. This isn't your fault."

"It's not yours either, Dean." He got a snort in response. Cas watched Dean for a moment, trying to decide if he wanted to tell Dean yet or not. "Dean, would you be upset if I chose to be this way?"

Dean stopped in front of him. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Say that I was offered a chance to be an angel and chose to be human."

Dean looked confused. "I don't think I understand the question. You didn't choose. God is punishing you, right?"

Cas nodded. "The first time, yes."

"How many times has this happened?" Dean asked sarcastically.

Cas bit his lip for a moment. He didn't know how Dean was going to react, especially right now. "You remember when I was asleep in the van?" Dean nodded. "I had a dream. God came to me in a dream."

"Excuse me? God visited your dreams?" Cas nodded. "Why?"

"He told me that I had earned my wings back and I could be an angel again."

"And you chose this? Why? Why would anybody choose to be human?"

"Anna did. You know her reasons for it. Mine were similar." Dean thought back to his conversation with Anna in Bobby's junkyard. "I know what it's like to be an angel. I know what it's like to be human. I couldn't live as an angel after being human." Dean tilted his head. He gave him a surprised look. "I have you, Dean. I don't want anything more. I knew I would lose you if I took my wings."

"So," Dean's voice was shaking slightly, "you would rather suffer with me as a human than live forever as an angel?" Cas nodded. "Wow," Dean smiled, "I thought you were dumb before."

Cas smiled. "You're not upset? I would have been able to heal Bobby or even prevent this from happening."

"I'm not upset." Dean tossed his empty coffee cup into the trash nearby. "It's not like you knew this would happen." He moved over to stand beside Cas.

He looked at his cup. His brain told him to not say another word, but Cas never wanted to lie or hide anything from Dean. His voice was quiet, "I did know."

Dean looked at him like he had misheard. "What?"

"God told me that someone close to me would possibly die soon. I didn't know who or when."

Dean walked around to face him. "It shouldn't matter who, Cas. What if it had been me or Sam?"

"I'm sorry."

"You chose knowing that one of us would die?"

"I didn't know for sure."

Dean grabbed Cas's arms angrily, "You didn't know for sure? God was right in front of you and you didn't know?"

"Dean, I'm sorry." Cas felt his insides twist as Dean's face turned angry.

Dean shook Cas violently. "I don't believe you! How could you do that?" Cas's face twisted as he tried to hold back tears. Dean leaned in, gripping Cas's arms even tighter. "If Bobby dies," Dean looked at Cas with wrathful eyes, "I'll never forgive you." He pushed Cas back roughly, crashing him into the wall. He turned and stormed out of the room.

Cas put his face in his hands and finally let his tears fall. His shoulders shook as he cried loudly. This was everything he had feared would happen. Bobby was like a father to Dean and he feels like Cas has damned him to death. Not knowing what else to do, Cas moved down the hall and followed the signs toward the chapel.

He pushed open the small chapel's doors. Sam was the only one sitting in the small room. There were only a few rows of pews and Sam was sitting in the front, head bowed down. Cas stepped in and let the doors fall shut behind him. He hesitated, not knowing what exactly what he wanted to do. He let out a small sob that he couldn't control.

Sam looked up and glanced over his shoulder. He did a double take when he realized it was Cas who had made that noise. "Cas?" Sam stood and turned toward him. "What's wrong?"

Cas had managed to compose himself as he walked over, but now he couldn't hold it back anymore. His guilt over his decision cracked his ability to keep his sadness in. He dropped his head and covered his face, letting his tears fall and his shoulders slump.

"Cas." Sam rushed forward and laid a hand on Cas's shoulder. "What…" If Dean had been with him, Sam would have thought something happened with Bobby but alone Sam knew what had happened. "What did he do now?" Sam sighed at his stupid brother. It was just like him to push away the one person who could actually help him right now. Cas just made a miserable sound and hunched into himself. Sam felt like he had been punched. "Cas, I'm sorry." Sam straightened Cas a little before pulling him into a tight hug. Cas stiffened briefly but soon relaxed and cried into Sam' shirt. "Tell me what happened."

Sam had been searching the hospital with an irritated determination. It took him ten minutes, but he finally found Dean on the roof. He was leaning over the edge and watching the traffic with a blank stare. Sam slammed the access door behind him making Dean jump. He stormed over to Dean with a withering glare. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sam pushed Dean's shoulder with only a small amount of force compared to what he wanted to do.

"What?"

"How could you do that to Cas?"

Dean raised his eyebrows. "How could I? Do you know what he did?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, he told me everything, Dean. You're the jackass here. He gave up everything to be with you. He feels guilty as Hell and he shouldn't." Dean huffed and started to respond. "No!" Dean shut his mouth. "You need to realize why Cas did what he did and get over it. He is your husband, your soulmate and you know it."

"Sam, if Bobby dies…"

"It won't be his fault. Stop blaming him for something none of us have control over." Sam stepped back. "He's in the chapel," he turned and moved toward the door, "if you even care." Sam started down the stairs and left Dean to his thoughts.

Dean looked back over the building. The sun was rising, coloring the sky in pale blue. He knew Sam was right, just like he knew this wasn't Cas's fault, but he didn't understand why Cas would do what he did. He didn't know why he wanted to be human. Dean knew what he needed to do. He left for the stairs.

Dean hesitated outside the chapel doors. He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to say or how Cas would react, but he had to do something. Bracing himself, he pushed the small doors open and stepped into the small room. Cas was sitting in the second row near the aisle. Dean walked up slowly and sat in the row behind him. He noticed how Cas stiffened when he heard him sit.

"Cas," Dean shifted on the hard pew, "I'm sorry." Cas didn't move. Dean scooted forward and put a hand on Cas's right shoulder. Cas stiffened even more, like he was made of stone. Dean pushed lightly, trying to loosen him up a little. "You know how I am, especially right now. This isn't your fault. I mean, you didn't shoot him." Dean moved his hand to the back of Cas's neck, lightly massaging him. "It's just…It's my problem. I don't understand your position. I wish I could."

Cas stood suddenly and turned to face Dean. His face was blank but his eyes were hard and dark. "You know what, Dean," his voice was quiet and sharp, "I'm sick of explaining everything I do to everyone. I am my own person. I make my own decisions. They may seem selfish but after the long life I've lived I think I earned the right to be selfish." Dean's mouth fell open slightly. Cas took a shaky breath before softening a little. "Dean," he leaned on the pew, "I love you." Dean looked away. Cas turned his face back with a hand. "I know you don't like to hear it, or you don't believe it, but I did this for you. I did it to be with you."

Dean closed his eyes. He couldn't hear this or see Cas's wide earnest eyes. Cas leaned forward more and rested their foreheads together. Dean involuntarily turned his body to face Cas.

"I always loved you in some way, Dean." Cas's voice was a low whisper. "From the first moment I rebuilt you and touched your soul in Hell." Cas moved his right hand to Dean's left shoulder, fitting his hand perfectly into the print seared into Dean's skin. Dean shuddered when Cas gripped his shoulder tighter. "That's why this mark is here. I didn't mean to, but I claimed you when I raised you. From that moment on, you were mine. I will not lose you, Dean."

Dean let out a small laugh. "A little possessive huh?" Dean's breath hitched when Cas gripped him again.

"Yes." Cas practically growled against Dean's lips before pushing forward and kissing him with all the possession he felt. Dean cupped Cas's face and pulled him closer. Cas let a hand fall to Dean's jacket and pulled the rough fabric.

Dean pushed off the pew and stood, their lips still locked. Cas weaved his fingers through Dean's hair and kissed him deeper. Dean wrapped his arms tightly around Cas like he was holding on for his life.

They broke apart for air, heads still resting together. Dean nuzzled Cas's neck and kissed the warm flesh exposed above his shirt. Cas smiled. "Dean, we're in a chapel." Dean let his fingers curl around Cas's belt loops and pushed his hips against him.

"So?" Dean nipped Cas's neck gently.

Cas laughed quietly before pushing Dean back a little. They shared a look, a conversation without words. They understood each other then. Even if they could never explain it, they knew the other's motivations and actions as well as their own. Cas stepped back and pulled Dean's arm toward the door. "Come on, we should check on Bobby."

Dean nodded and let himself be pulled out the door. They walked down the halls together back to Bobby's room. Sam was standing by the nurse's station looking a little irritated and worried. He saw them coming and turned to meet them. "So, you two okay?"

Dean and Cas shared a short look before turning back to Sam. "Yeah." Dean shrugged. "Any news?"

Sam shook his head. "No, nothing yet."

Cas saw the doctor attending Bobby making his way to them. "Maybe we're about to get some." Cas pointed to the approaching doctor. Sam turned and Dean moved up to meet him.

"So there's nothing else we can do?"

The man stopped and sighed. "I'm sorry. We'll just have to wait and see if the swelling goes down."

Dean crossed his arms. "How long?"

The doctor shook his head. "It's hard to say in cases like this."

"He's lasted this long. That's something right?"

"Well, yes," the doctor seemed hesitant, "listen the bullet didn't shatter. Only one hemisphere of his brain was damaged. These are all positive things, but I don't want to give you false hope here. He's far from out of the woods. Most of the time in cases like this…"

"They die." Sam finished the sentence.

The doctor nodded slightly. "It comes down to him. I'll keep you updated." The boys nodded as the doctor walked away. They stood in silence a moment sending a silent prayer for Bobby to stay strong.

"Excuse me." A voice behind them made the three men turn to see a short man in a suit standing behind them. "Sorry to interrupt. Is one of you Robert Singer's next of kin?"

Sam and Cas glanced at each other before looking to Dean. He nodded and stepped forward. "Yeah, I am."

"Could I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure." Dean walked down the hall with the man. Cas watched him go before turning to Sam.

"How are you holding up, Sam?"

"I'm…okay I guess." Sam gave a half smile. "I just wish there was something we could do." Cas saw Sam trace the scar on his left hand as he stared off blankly.

"Me too."

Sam turned his full attention back to Cas. "So, is everything okay between you two?" Sam gestured down the hall where Dean was talking to the suited man.

Cas nodded. "We're fine." He looked at Dean, seeing him start to take a defensive stance. "We understand each other. Don't worry about us." Dean seemed to be arguing with the man now. Cas was starting to worry.

Sam nodded. Then Dean's voice carried up the hallway. "Do your jobs! SAVE HIM!"

"Oh crap." Sam had really hoped that Cas had calmed him down a little, but this man seemed to have riled him up again. Then Dean suddenly punched the wall beside the man's head, breaking the glass of the directory hanging there.

"Dammit." Cas took off to stop Dean from hurting someone or himself. He could hear Dean as he got closer.

"Walk away from me. NOW!" The poor man took off and passed Cas in the hall. Dean saw Cas coming and turned to leave through the front doors beside him.

"Dean." Dean pushed the door open and didn't slow down as Cas called for him. "Dean, wait." Cas quickly followed Dean outside. "Dean."

Dean was shaking his right hand. Blood was running from his knuckles. Cas took hold of his arm and pulled him to a stop as he tried to get away. "Dean, stop." Cas threw him a look that froze Dean in his tracks. He pulled Dean's injured hand up to see the damage. His knuckles were split open from the glass and bleeding. It wasn't too bad. Cas gently felt the cuts to see if any glass remained in his skin.

Dean hissed at the touch. "Ow."

"Suck it up." Cas looked closer, seeing a small piece of glass lodged in a knuckle. "What happened?"

"He asked me about freakin' organ donation." He hissed again as Cas pulled the glass out of his hand. "Why is everyone talking like Bobby is already dead? He's not gonna die." Dean let out a pained noise as Cas roughly pulled another piece of glass out. He turned his head away and saw a black car parked in front of the hospital. His face turned to stone and he pulled his hand away from Cas and walked to the car.

"Dean, what are you…?" Cas threw his hands up as Dean knocked on the car window.

"Dick! I know you're in there. Come on out you dick." The window rolled down to reveal Dick Roman sitting contently in the back seat. Cas could see him and hurried to stand by Dean. "You come here to finish the job?" Dick smiled. Cas moved up behind him as Dean stood back and raised his voice. "Well come on," Dean opened his arms, "right here right now out in the open. You and me, Dick Roman."

A small crowd had gathered and pulled out their phones to take pictures. Dick smiled again and nodded. "See? Deciding to jump a famous guy isn't all upside. You can kill me right now, if you want to see it online."

Dick was smiling as if Dean was really amusing. "You should go check on that friend of yours. He can't be feeling too frisky right about now. I'm a very good shot." His smile seemed painted on his face.

Dean moved closer to the car and lowered his voice. "We're coming for you. And not just to hurt you, to kill you. You understand me?"

"Come on, Dean, I can't be killed."

"You're gonna wish you could then."

Dick laughed. "That's some conviction. You'd really crush it on the motivational circuit."

"You're either laughing because you're scared or because you're stupid. I'll see you soon, Dick." Dean pushed off the car and walked back to the hospital. Cas shared a short look with Dick who gave him a smile before turning to follow Dean back into the building.

When they got back inside, Cas pulled Dean toward the bathroom. "Let's clean up your hand." Cas pushed the door open and led Dean to the sinks. He ran cool water and put Dean's hand under.

"I can do it myself."

Cas let go and stepped back. "Okay." He watched Dean clean and dry his hand. It didn't look too bad. He decided not to bandage it at all. They were silent, not wanting to bring up anything that would set off any more tempers.

When Dean was done he left for Bobby's room, knowing Cas would follow. They found Sam leaning against the windowsill again looking tense and nervous. He stood when he saw them coming. "What'd that guy want?"

"Nothin'." Dean lied. Cutting off Cas before he could tell Sam. Cas wasn't sure why. "Dick Roman was out there."

Sam's eyes widened. "What? What happened?"

"Nothing for now. Just a staring contest. That was about it." Dean looked at Bobby. "What's the update?"

"Swelling's down a little. They took him off sedation. Apparently he started fighting his tubes so they pulled them out. He's breathing on his own."

"That's good right?" Dean glanced at Cas.

Sam looked at him. "Yeah, doctor said best case scenario."

"Alright so when are they gonna take the bullet out?" Dean could feel a small hope building in his chest.

"Dean," Sam looked down, "they're not even gonna try that, not yet."

"What does that mean?"

"The word is abrading I think."

"English."

"Cutting out the dead brain tissue. That's if the doctor even thinks it's worth the risk." Dean gave a worried look toward Bobby. Sam looked at Cas and then back to Dean. "Can I talk to you," Sam looked at Cas again, "alone?"

Dean looked back at Cas with a questioning look. Cas nodded. "Yeah, you two go. I'll be here." Cas moved a little closer to the room as the brothers walked a few feet away.

Dean followed Sam. When Sam stopped Dean held out his arms. "What? Talk about what?"

Sam turned to face him. "You know what."

It took a second but realization finally hit Dean. "No, we're not gonna have that conversation."

"We need to."

"He's not gonna die."

"He might."

"Sam."

"Dean, listen we need to brace ourselves."

"Why?"

"Because this is real." They looked at each other. Wanting the other to come around to their way of thinking.

Dean felt himself losing some control inside. "What do you want to do? You wanna hug and say we made it through it when dad died?" Sam looked like he was losing it a little too. "We've been through enough." Dean pushed by Sam and left with no particular goal in mind. He just knew he needed to get out of the area.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and sat on a small chair behind him. He wasn't taking this much better than Dean but he felt like he had to keep it together. Dean was the one that always flew off the handle. There had to be one stable person right? He pushed a thumb into his scar on his hand, wishing for once that this was all a dream. He didn't want this to be real. But it was.

Cas thought about going after Dean but decided it best to give him some space. He stayed close to Bobby's room, wishing he could do anything helpful. In all his existence he hadn't felt more helpless than he did at this moment.

A couple hours later, Dean had come back and the three of them were waiting outside the room when a nurse walked by talking about prepping Bobby. Sam moved to intercept her. "Wait, wait, what's happening?"

"He's showing signs of responsiveness. We're taking him out for surgery. If you want to see him, I'd squeeze in there quick."

Sam and Dean shared hopeful looks and followed the nurse into the room. Cas followed behind. Sam and Dean moved to the left side of the bed, Cas moved to the right side. None of them knew what to do or say. They stood quietly.

"Sorry," the nurse was standing in the doorway, "we need to get moving."

Sam nodded. "Right, yeah." Sam looked at Bobby, "Hey, uh, Bobby," Sam picked up Bobby's hand, "just…thanks. For everything." He put his hand back down. Dean's eyes fell and Cas watched Bobby's face hoping to see some response.

"Alright. Please step back."

The three of them moved back when Sam jumped. Bobby's hand had come back up and was reaching for him. Bobby's eyes opened slowly. "Wait, stop." Sam held out an arm. Dean stopped and saw Bobby moving. Cas smiled. "His eyes are opening."

"Bobby." Dean moved up closer. Cas leaned closer. Bobby pulled off his breathing mask. Sam took his hand. Cas laid a hand on his arm. He seemed to be struggling to say something. "Don't talk. Don't talk." Dean looked around the room frantically. "A pen." Dean looked and found a sharpie on the chart hanging on the bed. He handed it to Bobby. "Here. What is it?"

Bobby pulled the cap off and opened Sam's hand. He wrote out a set of numbers. Sam looked at his hand with a questioning look. Bobby was breathing hard, trying to speak. They all leaned in closer to hear. "Idjits." Bobby gave a small tired smile. Cas smiled and looked at Sam and Dean. Bobby's head fell back and his heart monitor flat lined.

"Bobby?" Dean gripped the bed rails tight. "Hey."

The nurse moved forward and called out the door, "Call a code, trauma room!" The three of them were pushed out by the oncoming medical staff. They stood outside the room as nurses and doctors ran by and attempted to revive Bobby.

Time seemed to slow as they watched them work. This couldn't happen. He had been getting better. The sound of the heart monitor was like a siren in their ears. Dean closed his eyes and prayed for Bobby to hang in there. He couldn't lose him.


	10. Chapter 10

They had done everything they could. The hospital staffed worked with all they had to revive Bobby. It just wasn't enough. A nurse turned off the blaring heart monitor.

"Time of death: 7:03 pm." The doctor took off his gloves and tossed them into the trash bin behind him. He walked to the three men with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

Sam's lips quivered as tears filled his eyes. He brought a hand up to cover his face. Cas closed his eyes and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Dean's lips stiffened as he looked at the doctor. After taking a deep breath, Dean turned and stormed off.

Sam and Cas turned to stop him but Dean ignored them. Cas let him go for now and turned to Sam. He had put his arm down and was looking into Bobby's room. Cas stepped up and put a hand on Sam's arm. "I'm sorry, Sam."

He sniffed as tears fell down his cheeks. "Yeah," he looked at Cas, "me too." He gave a weak smile. "Why don't you go talk to Dean? I need to talk to him." Sam pointed to the doctor.

"You sure?"

Sam nodded and waved him off. "Go. You're probably the only one he'll listen to anyway."

Cas doubted it, but he turned to find Dean. He walked down the hall a little and found him standing by the directory he had shattered earlier. He was like a statue, unmoving, gaze hard and blank. Cas moved in slowly and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He twitched at the touch and quickly pushed his hand away.

Dean's lip snarled a little as he looked sideways at Cas. It was his warning not to do that again. "I'm sorry, Dean." Dean's eyes closed as he took a breath, making like he was about to speak. Instead he tipped his head back and sighed.

His voice came out in a hoarse whisper, "You know, he's been through so much. How many times has he been shot or broken a bone. He stabbed himself, paralyzed himself, but one bullet takes him out?" His throat moved as he held in a pained sob. He shook his head in disbelief.

"Dean," Cas stepped up beside him, "what can I do?" Dean didn't move. "Tell me what to do to help."

"You wanna know what you can do?" Dean turned to face him, sending a cold glare his way. "Can you go find God? Go get your wings back? Bring Bobby back?" Dean gave him a look of challenge, like he was daring Cas to say something about destiny or someone's time to die. But Cas didn't have anything like that to say. Dean already knew what his answer would be but he wanted Cas to say it and share in his helplessness.

"No."

Dean leaned in and practically hissed the next sentence, "Then what good are you?" With a last shake of his head, Dean moved past Cas and pushed the exit doors open and left.

Cas felt like Dean had physically slapped him. He had thought they had agreed on Cas's decision but Dean's threat of never forgiving him came back with a mocking voice. He rubbed the tears away as they formed in his eyes and walked back in to Sam.

The doctor had left and Sam was standing in the doorway to Bobby's room, watching as the staff got him ready to be moved. Cas walked up beside him. Sam looked at Cas, "Get anything?" Cas shook his head. "He probably just needs some time to let this sink in."

"So, what do we do now?"

Sam shifted on his feet and rubbed his forehead. "Uh, the doctor said that they'll release his body later tonight. We'll take care of it, I guess." Sam ran a hand through his hair. "I mean I guess we could have him cremated here. I don't know." Sam sounded close to tears again. "I don't know what I should do or what he even wanted."

Dean should have been here to help Sam make these decisions. Cas didn't know what he should do either. He offered the only help he could. "What did you do with your dad?"

"We took him, burned him."

"Don't you think Bobby deserves the same? A hunter's funeral?" Sam nodded and seemed to focus a little more, maybe just needed a little direction and encouragement that he made the right choice. "That's what he'll get then." Sam ran a hand over his face and sighed. "What's that?" Cas saw writing on Sam's hand.

Sam looked at his palm. "I don't know. You saw Bobby write them, but it can't be a phone number or a social security or coordinates. I don't know what it is." Sam through his hands up like he couldn't feel any more useless.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out." Cas laid a comforting hand on Sam's arm. "How about we go outside and let them work." Cas pointed to Bobby's room.

"Yeah, okay." Sam turned and let Cas lead him out of the hospital. None of them had slept since they brought Bobby in and it was beginning to wear on all of them. The sooner they could sort everything out and sleep, the better they would all be.

Dean was waiting with the Impala outside the hospital when Sam and Cas stepped outside. The two of them walked over to meet him. "Dean, do you really think we should be driving this? Remember what Frank said about it?" Sam walked over to the passenger side.

"I don't care what Frank said. If the leviathans know what he look like, what does it matter if we drive our car. If they want me, I'm more than ready. Bring it on." Dean's voice was set with rage. He hadn't calmed down any yet. And neither one of them could expect him to be yet.

"They're gonna release the body later tonight, so we can intercept it then."

Dean nodded in understanding and slipped into the car. The three of them drove to a nearby motel. During the next three hours, Sam tried to talk to Dean which resulted in many heated fights. Dean didn't want to talk and share. Cas knew where he stood so he laid on an open bed while the brothers fought. It wasn't until fists flew that Cas interrupted. He pulled the fighting brothers apart and led Sam outside.

Cas managed to keep them apart until they drove off to get Bobby. They took his body out to a patch of woods away from traffic and set up his pyre. The three men stood in silence as the fire grew. Cas stood between the brothers to prevent anything from starting. Dean was holding Bobby's hat he had been wearing in the van.

When the fire had died down, the boys went back to the car. Dean put Bobby's hat in the trunk as a constant reminder of what they were fighting for and what could happen. They spent the night in the motel. Dean had made a point to take up all the space in one of the open beds. Cas knew he wasn't invited and figured that trying to slip in would result in bodily harm. Sam let him share with him as long as he didn't try to get too close. Cas didn't sleep well while trying to stay on the far edge of the bed so as not to touch Sam.

The next morning, Dean was up first and writing the set of numbers from Sam's hand over and over on a piece of paper. Cas slipped off to the bathroom to change. When he came out, Dean was staring at the paper and biting his lip, in deep thought. He glanced up when Cas walked out. "Pack up your shit. We're leaving soon." He still sounded tired. Cas wondered when he had woken up. Cas then noticed the mostly empty bottle of alcohol beside Dean. Dean noticed his look and rolled his eyes. "Don't even fucking start."

"I didn't say anything." He rolled up his dirty clothes and looked at a sleeping Sam. "Can't we let Sam sleep a little longer?"

"No." Dean stood, practically knocking his chair over. He picked up the piece of paper and smacked Sam's foot. "Come on, Sam, we need to leave." Sam stirred with a grumble. Dean picked his coat off his bed and slipped it on.

Sam sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Time to go." Dean exited the room to start the car. Cas shrugged at Sam's confused look.

"I'll be out in a minute." Sam threw his covers off and stood up.

Cas picked up their room keys. "I guess I'll check us out." He tossed his clothes in the backseat before walking to the motel office. He heard Dean yelling from the car for Sam to move his ass.

They drove back to the cabin in Montana they had been using. Bobby had thankfully gotten most of his previously destroyed library copies moved here so they had a place to start in figuring out what the set of numbers meant.

After a day of coming up with nothing, Dean got frustrated and called up Frank Devero to hire him to do some research of his own. That first week was also explosive between the three of them. Sam and Dean were always on edge and bickering most of the time. Cas was met with nothing but malice from Dean. He either responded with a shouted 'Fuck you' or he was ignored entirely.

What troubled Cas more than Dean was Sam's behavior. He noticed that Sam was staring off more often or rubbing his scar on his hand a lot. Occasionally at night, he also heard shouts coming from Sam's room when he knew Dean was not the cause.

At the beginning of their second week of being in the cabin, Cas had tried to raise his concerns about Sam to Dean and was met with the silent treatment. When it came to him, Cas was fine with Dean being an ass but Sam could easily be having real issues and that made him mad.

Cas loudly pushed Dean's door open the day he had finally had enough. Dean jumped slightly at the noise but looked away when he saw who it was. "Dean, I need to talk to you." Cas was actually shaking with anger as he tried to keep his voice somewhat level.

"Go away, Cas." Dean was sitting at a small wooden table he had dragged into his room so he could work out of sight.

"NO!" Cas slammed his hand on the table beside Dean's hand. Dean looked up in surprise and irritation. "Are you that blind, Dean? Or do you not care that Sam could be falling apart right in front of you?"

Dean glared at Cas. "If he was in real trouble, he would tell us." Dean set his jaw in anger.

"Is that why he's yelling at nothing most nights? Why he seems to be hallucinating more often?"

"He says he's fine."

"Oh yeah that's reliable."

Dean pushed off the table and stood, going toe to toe with Cas. "Until he comes to me with a problem, I'm gonna work on this." Dean pointed to the numbers again. Frank hadn't responded yet and Dean was trying to make some sense of everything Bobby died for. Dean pointed to the door. "Get out."

Cas hesitated briefly but he knew Dean was set in his decision. He turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Another tense week past and all of them were getting stir crazy. The cabin was beginning to feel like a prison. Once in a while they went to eat somewhere but tensions between all of them made that almost worse than being stuck in the cabin.

Sam had withdrawn more into himself and hardly looked at Dean or Cas. Dean was starting to worry about him now, but Sam wasn't talking. Dean was also treating Cas like he was invisible. He never talked, touched, or even looked at him anymore. Frank still hadn't called and Dean was getting more irritated every day.

Cas approached Sam one afternoon while Dean was working in his room. "Sam," Cas sat on the small coffee table across from Sam, "how are you holding up?"

Sam shrugged looked over Cas' shoulder. "I'm doin' about as good as any of us I guess."

"Don't lie." Cas leaned into his line of vision only for Sam to flinch away. "It's Lucifer isn't it?" Sam looked up in surprise before looking back down. "Maybe I could help."

"No, you can't." Sam looked at his hands. "Nothing personal. I don't think anyone could help. You're already doing everything you can."

"I know it's getting worse." Cas leaned forward to rest a hand on Sam's. "Just, know that I'm here if you need anything."

Sam tightened his hand on Cas's briefly and smiled. "Thanks, Cas." Sam pulled his hand back and rubbed his forehead. When he stayed silent, Cas thought they were done but Sam continued in a quiet voice. "It is getting worse. I don't know if it's the lack of sleep or the tension in this place but it's so much worse." Sam took a shaky breath. "Of course the whole Bobby situation only makes it easier for him to mess with me."

Tears formed as Sam spoke. His voice getting louder and more panicked. "All he has to do now is show me Bobby. I see him everywhere. He shows me his death over and over and he kills him in awful ways over and over and I can't…I…" Sam dropped his head into his hands and made a frustrated noise. "I feel like I'm barely keeping it together. If anything happens to you or Dean I don't think I could take it."

He had expected as much. Unfortunately, Sam was right Cas couldn't do much to really help what was happening. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

A few days later after a rather annoying breakfast, Cas had again become fed up with Dean's inability to let out everything he was bottling up and trying to drown in alcohol. It was just like what he had done after killing Amy and hiding it from them. Cas remembered Dean saying how he wanted to be set straight or punished for behavior like this. Cas finally felt like he could be up to doing that.

Dean and Sam were in the main room of the cabin. Dean was looking at his "Dick Roman Must Die" wall full of research connecting Dick to supernatural happenings around the country. Sam was looking through one of Bobby's books. Cas stood in the hallway leading to their rooms. "Dean," Cas waited for Dean to turn around before he continued, "come here."

"Why?" Dean turned away to look at the wall again.

"Because I say so." Cas raised his voice and put an unquestionable edge to his words. Dean turned with an angry look and crossed his arms, challenging Cas to make him move. "Now."

"Or what?"

"Or I will drag you in here by your hair." Cas curled his fists, completely done with messing around. Dean must have been able to read that on his face because he dropped his papers on the coffee table and walked over. Sam slouched in his seat and made sure to avoid any eye contact. He knew when to stay out of a fight.

Dean attempted to walk past Cas but as soon as he was close enough Cas grabbed him and manhandled him into his room. Cas ignored his protests and shut the door and threw Dean back a couple steps. "What do you want?"

"I want you to stop." Cas pleaded.

"Stop what?" Dean straightened out his tousled jacket.

"Stop with the drinking and the fighting and avoiding me and Sam."

"I'm not the only one fighting." He accused.

Cas licked his lips and took a step closer. "Dean, your brother needs you." Dean looked at Cas's feet with a sour face. "You're angry about Bobby." Dean's lips tightened. "You should be, but stop keeping it all inside. Do everyone a favor and just explode already."

"'Cause it's all my fault right?"

"No it's mine. Isn't that what you believe?" Dean rolled his eyes and tried to push past Cas. Cas took hold of his shirt and flipped him into the wall with a thud. Dean pushed Cas back. "Come on, Dean." Cas moved back into Dean's space. "I know you want to. Hit me, push me, scream, whatever you need to do." Dean looked him in the eye for the first time in days. "No matter what you do, I'm not leaving."

They watched each other, neither knowing what the other would do. Dean was angry. Cas could see that much. He just needed a little more motivation. "Bobby was like a second father to you, Dean." He saw the warning look in Dean's eyes but ignored it. "He's dead. Nothing you do now will ever change that." Dean took a defensive stance against the wall. "And I already made my choice…"

Dean growled and quickly flipped their positions. Cas held Dean's arms as he pinned him to the wall. Cas knew he wanted a fight so he tried to push him back. Dean twisted his arms and pushed his left arm into Cas's throat, effectively trapping him to the wall. They were breathing hard and glaring at each other. "Do you know what I see when I look at you, Cas?" Dean pressed his arm, making Cas grunt in pain. "I see Bobby die. Every time."

Cas tried to get a steady footing but Dean kicked his feet away, putting him completely at Dean's mercy. "I see his head gushing blood," Dean was getting angrier with every word, "I see him trying to breathe out his last words. I see him die!" Tears formed now and the pressure on his neck lightened up slightly. "Do you understand?"

Just managing the ability to talk Cas croaked out, "Is that why you can't be around me? Is that why you hate me?"

Dean paused. "Yes."

"Do you want me to leave, Dean?"

Dean searched his eyes, hoping to find some clue as to what Cas wanted him to say. "Does it matter? No matter what, you're not leaving right?" Cas nodded. Dean pushed off the wall and freed Cas. He could already feel the bruise forming on his neck. "I can't do this, Cas."

Cas stepped away from the wall. "Let me help you then." Dean moved away from Cas and ran a hand through his hair. Then, as if finally snapping, Dean upturned the small table by the wall and growled angrily. As if that wasn't enough, Dean picked up the small chair and hurled it into the opposite wall.

After a few rough breaths, Dean turned to Cas. "That good enough for you?" He waited for Cas to react but looked away when he got nothing. Done with this game, Dean moved past Cas without protest and took back his position at his wall.

Cas didn't know exactly what he had expected to happen but this was pretty close. He took a few minutes to calm down before leaving the room to join the brothers. He heard the last part of their conversation.

"Dean," Sam was standing by the fridge with a freshly opened beer, "I asked you a question."

Dean had been facing his wall and turned to face Sam, "Unless of course something happened to him. He can't get to the phone because a leviathan ate his face." He assumed they were talking about Frank Devero.

"Yeah, also a possibility."

"Maybe we should go check on him."

"Dean," Sam took a step forward in an attempt to get his brother's attention, "do you want to call Bobby's people or not?"

"Why?" Dean glanced at Cas. "Why is that our job?"

"Because, who else is gonna do it?"

Dean set his jaw. "I'm not callin' anybody. If you want to, go right ahead."

"I don't want to call anybody. You kidding me?" Dean turned away to look at the wall again.

Sam was about to take a drink when a phone rang beside him. They all looked at the source of the sound. It was one of Bobby's bags. Sam and Dean looked at each other. Dean shrugged. "Well I'm not getting it."

Sam tightened his face in irritation before setting his beer down and digging through the bag for the phone. Dean walked over as Sam answered it, "Hello?" Sam paused while the other person talked. "No, he's uh," Dean looked through Bobby's bag, "it's not but I'm a friend of his." Dean pulled out an old flask. "Right, well he's not here."

Whoever was calling was obviously looking for Bobby. "But, if you need help we can…" Sam pulled the phone back. The caller had hung up.

"Who was it?" Dean dropped the flask back into the bag.

Sam closed the phone. "Just some kid."

Cas sat in the open chair beside him. "For Bobby?"

"Girl Scout cookies?" Dean turned to walk back to his wall.

"I think maybe a hunter's kid. She sounded pretty scared." Dean picked up his own beer bottle and leafed through some papers while Sam opened the phone back up. "You know, I have caller ID. Maybe we should go find her. Check on her."

Dean looked up. "What about Frank?"

"Well, Dean, I think we should find this girl first."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Frank has been working on the numbers Bobby spent his last breath on, and you want to back-burner that?"

Sam pursed his lips and stared at his brother. Cas knew his opinion wouldn't matter much right now so he stayed quiet at the table. Dean threw him a look briefly before waving his arm. "Fine you two go check on Girl Scout. I'll find Frank."

"Fine," Sam started toward Dean, "but on one condition. If Frank is just spinning his wheels, then you bail out on crazy and meet us."

Dean nodded and lifted his beer to take a drink. The bottle was empty. "Thanks for drinking my entire beer."

Sam looked confused. "I didn't touch your beer." He turned to point to his. "Mine's right there." Cas sat up and looked at Dean's empty bottle. It had been almost full when he picked it up. At least, Cas thought it was. "You probably drank it without noticing."

Dean looked around the room. "Right." He didn't sound convinced but he had no explanation for it.

"Come on, Cas." Sam picked up a jacket and headed for the door. Cas gave Dean one last look before following Sam outside.

They hotwired a car and drove out to find the girl that had called Bobby. Sam knocked on the door to the rental apartment. Sam saw the peephole darken over like someone was looking through it. "Hello, uh we spoke on the phone earlier."

The lock clicked and the door opened as far as the chain lock would allow. The face of a teenage girl showed through, giving them both analyzing looks.

"Hi, I'm Sam." He moved over a little to let her see Cas better. "This is Castiel. You sounded like you needed help and we were in the area."

"How did you find me?" She sounded suspicious but not scared.

"Your dad is in Bobby's address book." Sam lied.

"So where is he?"

"Bobby?" The girl nodded. "He uh," Sam looked down at the floor before looking back up at her, "he passed away." Her face looked worried but softened a little. She must have been able to tell Sam wasn't lying. "Look um…"

"Chrissy."

"Chrissy, I get it. You don't let strangers in, but if your dad says you can trust Bobby you can trust us."

Chrissy sized them both up again before closing the door to unlock it. She opened it fully and lifted up her cell phone. "Just so you know, 911 is on speed dial, one button." She made the warning clear.

Sam and Cas nodded, "Yeah, note taken." This girl was smart. She moved aside to let them in. She locked the door behind them. They both took in the small apartment. Nothing seemed out of place and no obvious sign of being a hunter was left anywhere.

"So, you two are salesmen too?"

"Yes." Sam turned to face her as Cas continued to look around the apartment. "So, your dad is on the road right now?" Chrissy nodded. "Been gone a while?"

"He usually calls every night."

"How long has it been?"

"Five days." Cas stopped and turned to Sam who gave him a knowing look. That was a long time to be missing. Chances of him coming back weren't as high as they would like.

"Just you and him huh?" Sam made sure his voice didn't reveal his worry. She nodded. "I know how that is. Sometimes, on the road, crap happens so we'll help you track him down."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Cas turned to face Chrissy. "Did your father say where he was going?"

"He said he had a couple leads near Dodge City."

"Does he have a desk where he keeps his stuff?" Chrissy nodded and lead them to his bedroom on their left. Cas walked past the bed and stood by the clean desk. Sam turned to look at Chrissy. "Do you mind making some coffee?" Chrissy smiled and left the two alone.

"I'll look in here, why don't you check the rest of the room. He has to have something here about what he was hunting." Cas looked through his dresser while Sam shuffled through the papers in his desk. Neither were finding anything out of the ordinary.

Cas opened the closet on a hunch and moved the clothes out of the way. "Sam." Sam stood and Cas pointed to the back wall which was covered in maps and newspaper clippings.

"Bingo."

After looking over the information, Sam and as walked back out to talk to Chrissy. She was loading up the coffee maker "Hey, Chrissy, I think we have an idea of where to start, so we're gonna go." Sam held up a picture of Chrissy and her dad. "Can we borrow this?"

She looked like she was about to say no but then nodded, "Sure."

"Thanks." Sam dug in his pocket and pulled out Dean's cell number. "Here," he handed it to Chrissy, "here's a number in case you don't hear from me in a couple days. Don't worry, I promise I'll check in."

Chrissy looked at the number and sighed. "Don't say that. That's what my dad said." With a final nod and wave, Sam and Cas left the apartment.

They drove to check on the last victim that Chrissy's dad had had pinned in his closet. The coroner rolled the body out for them. "Matthew Havlena. Found in a ditch off the interstate."

"Cause of death?"

"The missing 5 pints of blood kind of helped. Puncture wounds on the femoral artery," he pointed to the man's right leg, "and carotid artery." He pointed to this neck.

"So what, some kind of animal attack?"

"Or a vampire." Sam and Cas gave the coroner blank looks. "Huh, usually that gets at least a chuckle." At their unamused looks, he left the room.

They left a few minutes later and Sam called Dean as they walked to the parking lot. "Did you find Frank?"

"Yeah, those numbers? Coordinates. Dick bought some land. We're headed there now."

"Wait, coordinates? I thought there weren't enough numbers for that."

"Apparently Bobby didn't get to the last one. Can you blame him?"

"No, I guess not. But you and Frank are just gonna drive up to where you think Dick is up to something?"

"Relax, Sam, it's a field not the Death Star. What's going on with the girl?"

"I don't think she even knows her dad is in the life. So far we've got three missing truckers and one bloodless body."

"Good times. Keep me posted."

"Yeah, of course." Sam hung up and he and Cas got back in their car and left for their motel room.

After doing some reading in his dad's journal, Sam figured out what they were probably looking for. He showed Cas the article as he pulled out his phone to call Dean. He got his voicemail. "Dean, hey so I think this guy was hunting a vetala. Dad took one down back in the day. Silver knife to the heart twist and done. His journal said they're maladjusted loner types, like to knock a guy out and drag him home and feed on him slow. So if Chrissy's dad got snatched he could still be alive. It would be nice to get this guy's dad home to her you know." Sam paused and sighed. "Well, Cas and I should be able to handle this. Just wanted to let you know."

Sam put his phone away and sat beside Cas. "Are you certain this is what's taking people?"

"It fits. We have to check it out."

Sam and Cas drove to a nearby restaurant and truck stop where the other men had last been seen. The manager directed them to a blonde waitress. They met her by the counter and flashed their FBI badges. "Excuse me, your manager said you might be able to help us?"

The waitress looked confused but nodded. "Okay, sure what can I do for you?"

Cas held up the picture Sam had taken from the desk at the apartment. "Have you seen this man?"

She shrugged. "Uh, I might have served him the other day." She looked around to make sure no one was too close before she leaned in to whisper to them. "I think he may have gone to talk to that girl out there." She looked out the window behind them. They turned to see a young dark haired woman dressed like a prostitute outside the restaurant.

"Thanks." Sam and Cas gave the waitress a card before going outside to talk to the other woman. "Hey, can we talk to you for a second uh," Sam looked at the woman's necklace that had her name, "Sally."

Cas held up the picture. "You ever see this man?"

Sally immediately looked nervous and looked away. She put on a fake smile and shook her head. "No."

"You sure?" Sam knew she was lying.

Sally smiled and moved closer to them. "It's not safe here. More private." She led them off to stand between a couple of the semi trucks. Her breathing quickened and she looked scared. "Something's happening around here. I'm afraid I'll be next."

"Tell me what you saw."

"I don't know what I saw." Sally looked behind them and fear lit up her eyes. Clicking of heels alerted them to someone approaching. Sam and Cas pulled out their knives and turned to face the sound.

The blonde waitress was coming at them fast. Sam launched forward while Cas stayed back to make sure Sally was safe. Sam yelled at them to run but stopped short. Cas turned to see Sally's teeth had grown the signature fangs of a vetala. Caught off guard, Sally easily pushed Cas to the truck behind him. The next thing Cas knew Sally had sank her teeth into his neck and his vision blurred and faded.

"No!" Sam tried to push forward but the blonde kicked his knee, making him fall to land on the hard concrete before she bit him. The venom pumped through him and he blacked out.

Dean wasn't sure how he had fallen asleep but he woke up leaning against a hard metal surface. He was sitting in Frank Devero's hidden trailer while he watched the surveillance they set up in the Wisconsin field Dick had bought. He groaned and wiped a hand over his eyes. "How long was I out?"

"About 36 hours." Frank was watching the multiple screens with a bored expression.

"What? Why didn't you wake me?"

"Not your butler. Come see this." Frank leaned on the desk in front of him.

Dean rolled his chair closer to look at the screens. "What?"

"This is where it gets good." Frank zoomed a camera in on a car where a couple was making out in the front seat.

"Frank, you need to get out more."

"Not that." He fast forwarded until the car left and a woman in a tan coat walked onto the field. "Check out Sarah Palin."

"Who is she?"

"Amanda Willer." Frank pulled up her records. "Surprise, surprise works for Richard Roman." A few more people walked up behind her.

"What's she doin'?"

"Being a naughty, bossy little girl."

Dean blinked a few times. "Man, I hate to ask for the non porn version of that."

"They're surveying, getting ready to build something."

"Build what?"

"Exactly. What? No idea."

"Well, how do we find out?"

"We watch. Patience, grasshopper."

Dean snorted. "Patience and me aren't exactly on terms."

"Well, then go out and kill something, or whatever it is you do to blow off steam." Dean glared at him. "What? You don't like my suggestion?"

"I don't think you're in a position to be giving suggestions. I think you are one tin foil hat away from a rubber room."

"Did I mention you look awful?"

"Yes, maybe because someone I cared about just got shot in the head. And this is like shoving a rock up a hill and…screw you."

"Here's my advice you didn't ask for: quit."

"What?"

"You wanna keep going?"

"I want Dick Roman dead."

"You're gonna drive yourself into the ground first. Good plan." Frank turned back to the screen while Dean stewed for a second.

"I'm not gonna quit. It's not even an option. I'm not gonna walk out on my brother." He thought about Sam and Cas. He hoped they were taking care of each other.

"Fine. Do what I did."

Dean laughed. "What? Go native? Stock up on c-rations? Right." Dean rolled his eyes.

"No, cupcake. What I did when I was 26 and came home to find my wife and two kids gutted on the floor: Decide to be fine 'till the end of the week. Make yourself smile because you're alive and that's your job, and do it again the next week."

"So, fake it?"

"I call it being professional. Do it right, with a smile, or don't do it." Frank's serious tone made Dean finally see this crazy hunter as another human who has known suffering like all hunters did. His advice made him think of the fight he had had with Cas last time they were together. Dean was definitely not being professional and Cas had been trying to get the anger and angst out of him so he could maybe be a little more professional.

A vibrating noise caught his attention. His phone was ringing in his jacket pocket. He stood up and opened his phone. He had a voicemail. He listened to Sam's message. "No, no Sam that's not right."

"What's the guff?" Frank leaned back in his chair.

Dean's phone beeped with an incoming call. He answered, "Sam?"

"No, who's this?" A girl's voice was not what Dean expected to hear.

"Who is this?"

"Sam told me to call if I didn't hear back from him." Dean felt his chest clench in fear.

"Where are you?"

Cas's ears were ringing as his head bobbed. His vision was swimming as he opened his eyes, trying to take in his surroundings. He thought he heard a faint voice but he couldn't quite focus on it. "Cas," Cas could see now. He was in some kind of abandoned storage room. "Cas!"

Cas jumped at how loud Sam's voice suddenly sounded. He looked to his left and saw Sam and another man tied to their chairs. Cas felt the rope wrapped around his wrists and behind his back. "How you feeling?" He groaned in response.

"He's a hunter too?" The other man, who Cas recognized as Chrissy's dad, asked.

"Yeah," Sam smiled, "he's a long story." Cas could see the patch of dried blood on Sam's neck and felt some of his own on his neck. "So are there just the two of them?"

"Yeah, they're a tag team. One of them knocks you out, the other one takes your wheels and dumps them somewhere." He looked at the two of them. "I'm surprised they were able to take both of you down at the same time."

"We thought there was only one. They caught us off guard." Cas shook his head. This wasn't a great rescue mission.

The father, Lee, looked pale and tired. "They've been draining you."

His voice was weak, "Yeah, they hit you 3 or 4 times and you're done. Let me tell ya, when they tap ya, you can't see, you can't walk. I thought they would kill me right off but they don't have to. They've got nothing to worry about."

Cas leaned forward slightly. "How many times have they fed on you?"

Lee looked at Cas with sad eyes. "Three."

Dean had driven faster than he had when Bobby was shot. He ran up to Chrissy's apartment. She let him in. "Did Sam tell you where he was going?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out. What did you tell him?"

"He checked my dad's room."

"There?" Dean pointed to the side door.

"Yeah." Chrissy followed as he walked in the room.

Dean didn't see anything left out. He could feel the urgency of needing to find Sam and Cas now ticking away in his mind. He turned to Chrissy, "Look I really don't have time to hold your hand here."

"What are you saying?" She took a defensive stance in the doorway.

"I'm saying go wait in the living room. Your dad may not want you to know every single thing about him." She tilted her head and leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. Sending the message that she wasn't going anywhere. Dean shrugged and looked around the room. He opened the closet behind him and turned the light on. It seemed normal, but he pushed the clothes to the side and revealed a mostly empty wall. All that remained was a corner of a map tacked to the wall.

Dean ripped off the small piece of paper and turned to find Chrissy standing close behind him with a smirk on her face. "Where is it?"

"You mean everything about the job my dad was working?"

"Sam said you didn't know."

"Sam and Cas seemed competent. So I figured, fine do what my dad always told me to do. Be a regular kid, don't say anything, stay out of the line of fire, let the adults work it out." She lowered his voice. "So much for that."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Fine, alright just," Dean held out his hand, "hand it over. I've had a long, long week." Dean was a little surprised when Chrissy suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. He held his hands out and laughed lightly. "Alright, I get it. You're a tough kid." Dean leaned forward. "But I'm trying to get Sam, Cas, and your dad back."

Chrissy shifted in irritation. "My dad left and he didn't come back. Sam and Castiel left and didn't come back. If I give you the info, you leave and you don't come back."

"I'm coming back."

"I'm coming with you." She raised her voice and her gun.

"No…Hell no."

"I'm coming." Dean raised his eyebrows. "Or you're not going."

Dean huffed out a small laugh and smacked the gun out of her hand. She looked taken aback before rolling her eyes. "Ow."

"Now hand it over."

"I can't. I burned it."

"You what?"

"Lucky for you, I memorized it all first." She smiled, quite proud of herself. Dean knows he will regret this.

Cas pulled at his bindings, hoping he could get just a little leeway. They had been sitting in the storage room for over an hour. The click of heels made them all sit alert and Cas's hands to still.

Sally appeared before them with a smile. "Hunter day. All you can eat. How's everyone feeling? Good?" She looked at the three of them, trying to pick which one she wanted. "Strong and silent? Fine, I don't need much entertainment with my meal." She looked at Lee and walked over. She bent down and sniffed at Lee's neck.

Sam was about to say something when she moved past Lee and stood behind him. She ran a hand through his hair and put her face close to his previous bite. Sam braced himself for the bite but she stood up. "So many choices. Which one? Which one?" Sally brushed her fingers across the back of Cas's neck and leaned down to smell him. She hummed approval and pulled Cas's head to the side and exposed the unbitten side of his neck.

"The sad thing is," Sally whispered into Cas's ear, "I don't think you could survive any more after this one." Cas's head was still pounding from the previous feeding. He knew she was right. "But I just can't resist." She gripped his hair tight and sank her fangs into Cas. He vaguely heard Sam shout a protest as his vision went black.

Dean pulled the Impala up to the restaurant where all the previous missing truckers had last been seen. Chrissy was riding shotgun. "You ever actually work with your dad?" Dean glanced at the teenager to read her reaction.

"Sure, of course."

"No, I mean work. Not shoot cans in the woods."

"I mean," she looked at Dean, "I help all the time."

Dean smiled. "So, no?" Chrissy looked annoyed. "Well, right about now your stomach should be really knotted up."

"Not really. Look, maybe this was a lot harder for you when you were my age."

"Aw, you think you're a good actress. You're not."

"What are you talking about?"

"I hate to break it to you, but it's all over your face, you're scared."

"Stop treating me like I'm some girl. I've been training for this my entire life."

"Training is one thing. Doing is a whole different beast."

"Wow," sarcasm dripped from her voice, "you really scared me straight, thanks, Dean." They sat in silence a moment when Chrissy noticed something. "Why is that waitress getting into that truck?"

"I'm not explaining the R-rated crap to you."

"The front of the truck, not the back, Dean." Dean looked up and saw a blonde waitress drive on of the semis out of the parking lot. He started his engine and followed the truck out of the store.

They followed it a few miles before it parked beside an abandoned-looking storage building. Dean parked the car. "Alright." Dean held out a closed fist toward Chrissy.

She gave him a bitchface that rivaled Sam. "What century is this? No one fist-bumps anymore."

"Come on give it up." Dean shook his hand. "Good work." Chrissy stared. Dean shook his hand again.

"You're a dweeb." He kept his hand still. She rolled her eyes and lifted her left hand to return the fist-bump. Dean quickly caught her hand and brought up a pair of handcuffs from his right hand. "What the hell?" He cuffed her arm to the steering wheel.

"I've got an idea. How about you stay here."

"You jackass."

"Well, I'm the jackass that ain't bringin a kid in there, period."

"Why? I can do everything you can do."

"I'll bring him back. Trust me." Dean opened his door.

"Please, they're probably dead."

Dean sat back and shut the door. "You don't know that."

"It's been days. They're probably just a pile of meat." She shook her head in defeat. "I've seen it. People die, Dean. I watched my mom get torn to shreds. Let me go in there and kill them."

Dean could see a lot of himself in this girl, but he couldn't be responsible for her death. "No, I'm sorry."

"Oh," she shook her cuffed hand angrily, "you are such a hypocrite. How come you get to do it and I don't?"

"Because I'm a grown up." Dean sat and looked at her trapped hand. "Give it to me."

"What?"

"Your lock pick." She stared ahead blankly. "I will frisk you." She reluctantly took her lock pick out of her jacket and handed it over. "Thank you." Dean opened the door and got out of the car. He looked back as he walked to the door. Chrissy glared at him from the passenger seat.

He used her lock pick to get in the back door of the building. He walked in slowly, seeing dead bodies in a couple of the corners. The sound of female voices traveled to him.

"I'm so glad we picked up two new ones. This one is almost tapped out." Dean looked around the corner and saw the three men tied to chairs. A brunette was looking at Chrissy's dad, while the blonde waitress stood behind Sam. "You wanna finish this one off together?" The brunette ran her fingers through the dad's hair.

"Sure," the blonde walked away from Sam, "I'd love to." Dean grabbed the first thing nearby and prepared to attack the brunette as she turned toward him. He used the metal pipe he grabbed to knock the girl to the ground. The blonde looked up and charged Dean. He pulled his knife out. She stopped short. "Not so fast."

Dean slashed the knife forward but dropped it when she blocked his arm and pushed him back. Her hand closed around his throat. Dean groped at his side to a weapon and found a crowbar. He hit her with the metal bar, dropping her to the ground. He picked up his knife and kneeled down to kill the blonde.

"Dad, I've got you." Chrissy's voice made Dean freeze. He saw the young girl run past him only to be grabbed by the brunette on the floor. She made the teenager drop her knife and pinned her arms behind her.

"Let her go," she walked Chrissy back behind the others, "or little miss sunshine gets it." The men looked back at Dean. Dean stepped back and let the blonde vetala make her retreat.

"What were you thinking," her dad shook his head at Dean, "bringing her here?"

Dean took a few steps forward. He looked at Sam, he only had one wound and seemed alert enough. Chrissy's dad looked like he was on his last leg and Cas…Cas looked awful. He barely had his eyes open and all the color had faded from his face. Blood covered both sides of his neck. Dean felt a deep rage boiling inside at his appearance. He took another step and the brunette showed her fangs.

"Drop the knife." Dean stopped and raised his hand.

He lowered the knife slowly. "She's just a child. Let her go."

"Yeah, I don't think we'll be letting anyone go." She looked at the blonde one and smiled.

"We were going to kill daddy here," she looked at Dean as she walked closer to Cas, "but since we have her," she pointed to Chrissy, "we might as well hit you somewhere that hurts a little more." She pulled Cas's head up. His eyes caught Dean's but were glazed over from the previous bite. He knew he wouldn't survive another.

"What about him then?" Dean pointed at Sam. He could take another bite. "He's my brother."

Both girls laughed. "Except this one means just as much to you doesn't he? We see it in his blood."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just your pain." With a laugh, she tilted Cas's head back and sank her teeth in. Cas made a strangled noise as he injected him with poison.

Sam and Dean cried out and Chrissy used the distraction to her advantage and pulled out her spare knife from her sleeve. Turning quickly, she stabbed Sally and killed her with a twist of her hand.

The blonde one released Cas at the scream of Sally and dove for Dean. Dean had picked up his knife and stopped the vetala in her tracks. Chrissy quickly cut Sam's ties and handed him the knife. Sam came up behind the girl and killed her when she turned around. She fell to the ground and shriveled up in death.

Chrissy was untying her dad when the brothers turned around. Dean ran to Cas and cut his ties. Cas slumped forward and almost fell off the chair. Dean scooped him up into his arms. "Sam, help her get him out of here." Sam was already doing so.

Dean ran as fast as he could to his car. "Hold on, Cas. You hear me. Hold on." Chrissy sat between her dad and Cas as Dean drove to the hospital.

It had been a close call. Lee was stable and Sam was fine, but Cas would have died if he had gotten to the hospital a minute later. He was currently in one of the rooms getting blood pumped into him. Dean had already talked to Lee and hopefully convinced him to get out of hunting before Chrissy was stuck in this life and was now waiting for Cas to wake up.

All the fighting and avoiding he had done over the past few weeks had been almost forgotten when he saw him in the chair barely hanging on to life. A pained noise got his attention. "Cas?" Dean moved forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

Cas opened his eyes slowly, the light burning his tired eyes. He remembered being held by the vetalas and could hear Dean's pleas for him to hold on but everything else was a blur. He then saw Dean's worried face leaning over him. "Dean?" His voice sounded foreign to him, distant and weak.

"Hey, you had us worried for a minute."

"What did I tell you, Dean? You'll never get rid of me." Cas tried to smile but couldn't quite muster the strength. "What happened?"

"Took the bitches out and saved the family." Dean pulled a small chair up to sit by the bed. "You know, the usual."

"Is Sam okay?"

"He's fine. He's off sleeping at the motel."

"Good." Cas looked at Dean and could see the worry and tiredness pulling at his features. "You need to sleep too, Dean. Go, I'll be fine."

"No," Dean waved a hand, "I'm good. I got a lot of sleep recently." He still didn't understand how he slept 36 hours straight.

Cas then noticed how dark it was. It had to be after visiting hours. "What badge did you flash to stay here so late?" Cas smiled at Dean's surprised look.

"I don't even know. I just grabbed one." Dean laughed.

"Thank you for staying with me."

Dean nodded. "Cas, I want you to know that…" Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"What?"

"You were right. I needed to get some frustration off my chest and I was not behaving very well." Dean looked at his hands. "I got a little obsessed and crazy there for a little."

"You think?"

"I'm a little better now. I promise."

"Better be." Cas tried to glare but failed. He moved his hand out towards Dean, it felt like a weight on his arm. Dean reached out and twined their fingers together. Cas felt a smile pulling his lips as he slipped into sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

The first thing Cas noticed as he woke was how much stronger he felt. The blood levels in his body were back to normal and he had slept through the night. He then noticed how warm his right hand was. He looked over to see Dean's head resting on top of their joined hands. Cas smiled at the sight. He gently ran his left hand through Dean's hair, wishing they could stay like this for a while.

Dean stirred at Cas's touch and lifted his head. Red marks covered his face from their hands. "Good morning." Cas smiled at Dean's sleepy eyes.

"Morning." Dean rubbed his eyes, but kept his other hand in Cas's. "You feeling better?"

Cas nodded. "Yes, much better. Hopefully, I can leave soon." He looked around the room. "I hate hospitals and being stuck in a bed."

"I'll go find someone and see when you can get out of here." Dean brought their hands up and kissed the back of Cas's before standing up to find a doctor.

They released Cas later the afternoon with a recommendation to rest and to not to anything strenuous for a couple days. Cas and Dean were sitting at the small table in the kitchen of their cabin while Sam went out for food. "You know that I don't blame you about Bobby, right?" Dean was tracing patterns into the wooden table.

"Yes you do." Dean looked up with sad eyes. "You always will a little bit." Cas wasn't stupid. He knew how Dean's mind worked. "But, I know you understand me," Cas took Dean's hand, "and the choices I make."

Dean slid his chair closer to Cas and leaned in to rest their foreheads together. "I missed you, Cas." Dean's voice was a whisper. His finger made circles against Cas's palm. "During that month after Bobby died, I wanted to be close to you, to hold you and kiss you, but," Dean pulled back a little, "I couldn't." Dean looked into Cas's eyes. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Dean." Cas leaned forward and kissed him. It was chaste at first, but their prolonged distance made them both hungry for more quicker. Soon, they were gasping and pawing at each other. They stood from the table and held each other close as they kissed.

Dean pulled his head back but held Cas close with hands on his hips. "How long has it even been since we did this, Cas?" He leaned down to kiss and lick Cas's neck, making Cas let out a shaky breath.

"I don't know. A long time." Cas gripped Dean's back tight as he nipped at his neck. "Months." He pulled Dean's head up to capture his mouth again in a desperate kiss. Tongues swiped and curled together as both men held the other tighter. "Probably not since Vegas."

Dean broke their kiss with a shocked look. "God, really?" Dean thought back over the past few months. With the whole Becky thing, the leviathans, Dick, and Bobby, it probably had been that long since he and Cas had sex. "We need to fix that don't we?" Dean pulled Cas in for a needy kiss.

Cas hummed agreement into their kiss. They were so wrapped up in each other that neither of them heard the door open. "Oh my God, guys!" Sam's voice did little to deter the men from what they were doing. Cas looked past Dean to see Sam cover his face. "Can't you at least take it to a different room?"

Dean thought about responding but couldn't find the strength to pull away from Cas. He just decided to flip Sam the bird instead as he held Cas' hair. Sam dropped a bag of food on the table before retreating with his food. Although Sam had sounded upset, Cas saw the smile as he left for his room.

Cas's heart was pounding hard as Dean pulled at his jacket. He broke their kiss to pull off his top coat and watch Dean do the same. Before their jackets hit the floor, they were on each other again. When Dean started walking Cas toward their room, he felt something strange take over him. His head was suddenly spinning and he felt lightheaded.

"Dean." Cas pulled back and felt himself falling.

"Cas!" Dean reached out and caught him before he hit the ground. "Sam." He called for his brother, not knowing how bad this could get.

Sam immediately ran out the door. "Dean?" He saw Cas almost unconscious in Dean's arms. He helped Dean sit him in a chair. "What happened?"

"I don't know. We were fine and then he just collapsed."

Cas's head was spinning and his heart pounded in his ears. It felt like it did when the vetalas were poisoning him. He felt a little better now that he was sitting though.

"Cas," Sam put a hand on his shoulder, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Cas was a little out of breath, "I'm fine." He had to blink to clear his vision. Dean was crouched in front of him with a worried look. "I must still have some of that venom pumping through me."

"They did tell you to relax for a few days, but I didn't think," Dean bit his lip, guilt on his face.

"I'm fine." Cas put on a brave face to reassure Dean.

"Here," Sam grabbed the bag of food he brought in, "maybe you should just stay here and eat."

Dean moved to sit in his previously occupied chair. Cas nodded and turned toward the table. Sam went to bring his food out and the three of them ate dinner in silence.

Dean made sure to not rile Cas up, in any way, the next few days. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Cas. Three days after nearly passing out, Cas and Dean were relaxing on their bed, listening to some of Dean's music. Cas was absently looking through a book while Dean rested flat on the bed with his eyes closed. Sam had gone out for the night.

Cas liked when they had a few quiet days like this. He had finally managed to drag Dean away from the wall of Roman and just relax. But Cas had some other plans for the night. He put his book aside and lightly ran a finger up Dean's stomach and chest.

Dean cracked an eye open to look at Cas. He smiled and grabbed Cas's arm, pulling him down for a short kiss. Cas kept his face close and let his finger run up to Dean's neck and face. He traced a line down Dean's nose and let his finger pull lightly at Dean's lower lip. Dean tilted his head up in response, wanting more. Cas pressed closer and kissed him again, a little longer this time.

He wrapped his fingers around Dean's shirt collar and pulled him up to a sitting position. Dean went easily and finally opened his eyes fully. He looked at Cas with a silent question. If Cas thought he would be okay, Dean would be all in. Cas nodded to Dean's question.

They both moved at the same time, arms holding the other close, mouths crashing together. Dean was quick with getting Cas's shirt off and undoing his jeans. Cas let Dean pull off his jeans and kiss all the exposed skin he could. His heart was racing again, but he didn't feel any bad effects.

Dean positioned himself above Cas, still fully clothed, and bit at his earlobe while his hands roamed over his chest. Cas was gasping and clawing at Dean's back. Cas moaned when Dean's hand moved over his boxers, above his quickly hardening dick.

He didn't want this to end too quickly. Cas pulled Dean's face down for a heated kiss and flipped their positions. Dean huffed at the move but went with it. He was surprised when Cas slipped off the bed and stood closer to the foot of the bed.

Dean sat up. "Cas?"

"Take off your clothes." His voice was low and authoritative.

Dean's heart skipped at the sound of his voice and the look he was giving Dean. He kept eye contact as he stood beside the bed and slipped his shirt off, followed by his pants. He kicked them to the side as Cas looked him up and down.

Cas raised an eyebrow. "Everything, Dean." He looked pointedly at his boxers.

He suddenly had a lump in his throat. He had never seen this side of Cas before. As he pushed his boxers down and saw the hungry look in Cas's eyes, he decided that he liked it. Now fully naked, he waited for further orders.

Cas gave an approving smile and beckoned Dean closer with a finger. Dean took a step forward but stopped at the sound of Cas's voice, "No." Dean was confused. Cas pointed to the floor. He took the hint and slowly lowered himself to his knees.

Normally he might have felt embarrassed at this, but with Cas he didn't mind being the submissive one. Cas beckoned him again and Dean leaned forward to start crawling towards him. Cas's eyes darkened as he got closer. Dean made sure to arch his back a little and never look away. He could see Cas start breathing faster. He stopped at Cas's feet and sat up, looking at his husband in complete trust.

Cas put a hand in Dean's hair and pressed lightly. He bent forward and kissed him, it was slow and dirty. Dean felt his toes curl as Cas's tongue swiped over every part of his mouth. He brought his hands up to slip his fingers under the hem of Cas's boxers. Cas quickly slapped his hands away and pulled his head back. "No." Dean's breath hitched. "Only when I say you can." Cas let their lips brush briefly before standing up and releasing his hair.

Dean was painfully hard from Cas showing his dominance like this. He wanted to touch himself, but knew that was probably the wrong thing to do right now. He watched as Cas walked around to stand behind him. He didn't know what was going to happen and the anticipation made his heart pound faster. Fingers ran over his shoulders as Cas made a full circle around him.

"You look nice like this, Dean." Cas let his hand circle his neck and cup his chin. He then moved around behind him again and squatted, placing his knees on either side of Dean. He kissed the back of his neck, making Dean shudder and sigh. His hand moved over the back of Dean's head and moved it to the side with a tug on his hair. He nuzzled Dean's neck and let his teeth run over the shell of his ear.

Dean trembled at Cas's touches. He wasn't sure how much more he could take without pouncing Cas. A hand then snaked around his waist and wrapped around his neglected cock. Dean moaned loudly and leaned back against Cas. Dean's eyes rolled back in his head as Cas's hand moved in slow torturous touches and his almost kisses teased his neck.

Then suddenly, Cas stood up. Dean almost fell from the loss of his weight behind him. Cas was standing in front of him then and tilted his head up to meet his eye. They could see the mutual desire and lust in that look and Cas nearly ended this game right then, but instead he leaned down for a smoldering kiss that had Dean moaning. He could tell that Dean wanted to reach out but kept his hands at his side. He decided to have some pity on him. "Touch me, Dean."

He wasted no time with his freedom and held Cas's head close for another kiss. Dean's hands moved to Cas's waist and urged him forward. Cas fell to his knees and let Dean pull him close. They pressed together in passion and wanting. Dean bit at Cas's lips and grabbed his ass, still covered by his underwear, and thrusted against him. Cas pulled is hair sharply, tilting his head back. Undeterred by the move, Dean continued to move against Cas.

Hot breath mixed between them as Cas leaned in to ghost his lips over Dean's. "Dean." Cas pushed his shoulders and stood up. Dean knelt up and rested his hands on Cas's hips. "Go ahead." Cas nodded when Dean started to pull his boxers. Dean quickly pulled them off. He reached up to touch when Cas batted his hand away. "Get on the bed."

Dean smiled and turned to face the bed. They weren't far from it and Dean climbed and moved to the center of the mattress on all fours. He looked over his shoulder to a dangerous looking Cas. "Like this? Is this what you want, Cas?" Dean smiled at the way Cas bit his lip. Yeah, he wanted that.

Cas quickly moved to the foot of the bed. He wanted to jump on the bed and take Dean now, but he stopped. He didn't want to rush this. "On your back." Dean obediently flipped over and leaned up on his elbows. Cas knelt on the bed, pushed Dean's legs apart farther and crawled over him. They met in a kiss as Dean ran his feet up Cas' legs. He pushed Dean flat and grinded down on him while kissing him again.

Their erections slid together in a perfect rhythm to make them both groan out in pleasure. Dean tugged at Cas's hair to keep him close and wrapped his legs around his waist. They kissed and moved together briefly, until Cas leaned up. "You know," he pushed up on his knees, "I think I liked you better the other way." He smiled as Dean's legs untangled themselves from his back. "Turn around, Dean." Cas moved to kneel so Dean could move.

Dean was quick to move to his previous position. Once on all fours, he felt Cas move off the bed. He came back quickly with the bottle of lube they keep in the room. Cas coated his fingers and slowly worked Dean open.

When Cas had three fingers in, Dean was fully hard and pushing back on his hand. Cas would randomly stoke his prostate and make him cry out. "Cas, come on." Dean's head fell as a gasp escaped him. "I'm ready." He groaned when Cas hit his prostate again.

Cas pulled his fingers out and slicked his dick up before inching closer to line himself up with Dean. He put a hand on Dean's spine as he pushed in slowly. Cas bit his lip and pushed all the way in. Dean let out a load breath. Cas ran his hand up and into Dean's hair before pulling out a little and thrusting back in. Dean moaned and pushed back against him. He picked up the speed with every thrust, until Dean was making loud mewls of pleasure with every move.

"Cas, fuck." He used his hands against the pillow to push against Cas harder.

Cas moaned and leaned over Dean's back, pistoning his hips forward. His heart was racing and his breath came out in short gasps. He kissed the back of Dean's shoulder and wrapped his arms around his chest as he thrusted in again and again. Without realizing it, he started babbling.

Dean groaned. "Cas, was that Enochian?" Dean laughed lightly until Cas hit his prostate. "Fuck, I didn't know you still spoke that."

Cas let out a growl as he pulled Dean's head back by his hair. "I have all the knowledge I did as an angel. I'm still that angel, Dean." He grabbed Dean's hips and quickened his thrusts.

Dean's hands curled tightly into the pillow under him. "Yes." He gasped. "I know. My angel." His head fell as Cas started crying out in Enochian again. Dean heard his name a few times but he couldn't hear much over his heart and the creaking bed.

Feeling his end near, Cas bent back over Dean and wrapped a hand around his leaking cock. With a few moves of his hand, and continuous hits to his prostate Dean came with a cry of his name. The tightening of muscles around him pushed Cas over the edge soon after. He bit into Dean's shoulder and growled as he came inside him.

Both men stayed still as they let their orgasms course through them. Dean's arms were starting to shake but he didn't want to move. Cas's firm weight against his back was a comfort. Cas kissed the red circle his teeth had marked into Dean's back and caught his breath.

When their bodies finally fell loose and relaxed, Cas moved off and out of Dean, letting Dean lay down on the bed. Dean quickly pulled Cas against him and kissed him. It wasn't urgent or passionate, but they had no reason to worry. Cas put his head on Dean's chest and Dean pulled the covers up to their waists. Neither one of them was sure when Dean's music had stopped but it was quiet now as they curled up to rest for the night.

A couple nights later, Dean was doing some Dick research while Sam slept on the couch and Cas sat beside Dean, trying to get him to stop. "I don't know why you insist on obsessing over Dick all the time. You're going to drive yourself insane." Cas was whispering so as not to wake Sam.

Dean rolled his eyes as he clicked through a few articles of Dick's current appearances. "If we want to kill this bastard, we kinda have to obsess over him."

"Learn that from your dad?" Dean sat up straighter and looked at Cas in warning. He was about to speak when Sam's cell phone rang. Sam jerked away and looked around in confusion. He looked at Dean. "Don't give me that dirty diaper look, I ain't callin' you."

Sam leaned to the table beside him and picked up his phone. "Hello?" After a pause, Sam ran a hand over his face. "Sheriff Mills, yeah, I mean…" Sam was still pretty out of it, but stopped as the Jodi talked. "Okay, so what's up with the body?" Cas and Dean shared a look while Sam listened. "Yeah, yeah that's our kind of number. Hey question, how does a sheriff in Sioux Falls hear of a case in Ohio?" Sam paused. "Okay, thanks, Sheriff."

Sam hung up the phone and turned to an expectant Dean and Cas. "Sheriff Mills, she caught us one."

"Oh I feel bad, we didn't get her anything." Dean looked over his laptop at Sam.

Sam nodded and looked between Cas and Dean. "I can't believe I'm about to say this but, I hope you're watching cartoon smut, because reading Dick Roman crap over and over is just self-punishment."

"I've already tried." Cas stood up to stand behind Dean. "He won't listen."

Dean sighed and shut the computer. "First of all," he raised a finger at Sam, "it's anime, and it's an art form."

Sam scuffed and stood up to stretch his back. "Whatever."

"Tell us about the case." Cas wanted any excuse to get Dean away from looking up more about Dick.

"Uh," Sam straightened his shirt, "Canton, Ohio, two bodies that appear to be mummified and are trying to be covered up by the authorities."

"Sounds good." Dean stood up. "Let's go."

Once in Canton, the three of them drove around looking for an abandoned house to take over for the duration of the job. Dean pulled up to a two-story house with covered windows and 'no trespassing' and auction signs. "Looks cozy." He looked at Sam who shrugged. He drove around back, wanting to make sure it really was empty.

The three men were in their Fed suits as they broke into the house and scoped it out. They met back in the main room on the bottom floor. Dean was moving a table into the room while Sam and Cas had pulled chairs left behind to put around the small table. "Well," Sam set his chair down, "there's a semi-functioning bathroom and one unrancid bedroom."

Dean held up a hand. "Define semi-functioning. And do not use the words 'hole in the floor'." Sam opened his mouth and closed it again. He then brought up his hands for rock-paper-scissors. Dean took his ready position and Sam smiled. Even Cas knew who would win at this.

Sam unrolled his sleeping bag in the unrancid room. Dean stood in the doorway, holding his bag. "How does paper beat a rock?" Cas was leaning on the doorframe behind Dean. He could see the smile on Sam's face, even with his back to them. "It's stupid." With a pout on his face, Dean turned and headed down the hall to their room. Cas followed. Cas actually had a choice, as he wasn't part of the deciding game, but he didn't care how bad the room smelled. He wanted to be with Dean.

After getting settled in their house of the week, they headed out to talk to a witness to one of the murders. Dean looked at the file, Cas looked over his shoulder, while Sam explained. "Kids playing hide and seek found the body."

"Wow, very King Tut."

"Yeah, so this is were the eye-witness lives, but cops are calling him an unreliable witness."

"Because?"

"Let's find out."

They walked up to the door and were greeted by a man wrapped in a blanket. The men flashed their badges. "Special Agent Smith," Dean indicated Sam, "Special Agent Smith, no relation," he moved aside for Cas, "and Special Agent Jones."

"Oh," the man took a step out of the house, "do you mind if we uh, my mom is sleeping." They stepped back to let him out and he closed the door. "So, how can I…?"

"We had a few questions about the incident you witnessed in the ally."

The man tightened his lips. "You gonna laugh at my story like the rest of the Suits?"

"We're not gonna laugh at you." Dean shook his head.

"Alright, well I'm walking on the steps," he lifted his hand to indicate smoking, "medicating, when I hear fighting. So I look, and there's my neighbor Durbin and some dude who's dressed like my grandpa has got him by the neck right."

"What do you mean," Cas leaned closer to the man, "dressed like your grandpa?"

"Uh, snappy shoes, suit, one of those, uh Justin Timberlake hats." He looked up.

Sam looked at Dean in confusion. "You mean a fedora?"

"Yeah."

"Did you see anything else?"

The man let out a big sigh. "This like red energy passed from Durbin to hat guy. Even my watch stopped." The man paused dramatically and started at the ground. "Durbs, he aged right before my eyes." He looked up at the three of them. "He looked like a raisin."

They all nodded. "Well, we believe you."

"Thanks for your help." Dean tucked the file into his coat.

"Thank you, officers." He nodded and pulled his blanket tighter around him.

They went back to the house to see how helpful the witness would be to getting an ID on the killer. Sam was on his laptop, Dean was looking through his dad's journal, and Cas was looking through the case file. "Red energy." Dean looked at Cas. "Do you know anything that kills like this?"

Cas shook his head. "No, I've never heard of anything that does that."

Dean flipped through a couple more pages before shutting the book and putting it on the table. "Nope, nothing in there that turns a dude into a crypt keeper." He looked at Sam. "You?" Dean leaned forward and took out three beers from the cooler by his feet.

"Well, it turns out Canton is kind of a hot spot for weird dead bodies." Dean set a beer by the laptop and handed one to Cas before opening his own.

"You don't say?"

"Yeah," Sam turned the computer so Dean and Cas could see it, "news archives. Not exactly reporting mummifies but still," Sam and Cas moved closer to Dean so they could all look at the screen. "Uh, 1928 three deaths cited as spontaneous combustion." He pointed to the news article. "Bodies were shriveled even with no signs of fire."

"Little bit of a stretch but okay."

"'74, three bodies found with leathery decay." Sam clicked to the next one. "'57, three more. Severe dehydration, but this time one made the front page." Sam zoomed in on the front page picture. "Girl named Terry Servantes found the corpse near her church."

"Any pattern here other than location?" Dean took a drink.

"Random vics, random years, but they seem to drop in threes."

"That's two down, one to go." Dean leaned forward and moved the computer closer. "Alright let me drive for a sec."

Sam made a face. "You gonna look at more anime or are you strictly into Dick now?" Dean paused and looked at his brother. Sam and Cas shared a small smile over the keyboard. Dean started typing and quickly opened a site with security footage on it. Sam looked confused. "Those local feeds?"

Dean looked smug and smiled. "Yeah."

"How did you do that so fast?" Sam thought he might have to say Christo.

Dean shrugged. "Little tutorial from Frank." Sam leaned over to get a better look at the screen, confusion still on his face. "Don't worry." Dean picked up his beer. "We'll pretend this never happened." He took a drink and looked at Cas with a wink. Cas snaked a hand over his thigh and squeezed briefly, nearly making Dean choke on his beer.

After putting his drink down, Dean looked back over the keyboard. "Now mummy numero dos, was found at a Gas n Sip near Main Street right?" Dean typed in a code.

Sam moved closer to his brother. "Yeah."

Dean typed in a code that opened up four camera feeds. "Well, here are all the cameras around that store."

"You need to teach me that trick." Sam looked at the screen and missed the small smile from Dean.

A man on the sidewalk caught Dean's attention. "Hey look," he pointed to the top left camera, "Timberlake." A man in a suit and fedora was walking around the store.

Sam looked closer and paused the feeds. "Wait a second." He moved the computer back to face him.

"You can't let me bask in the glory for one second can you?" Dean leaned back in his chair and took another drink.

"Shut up." Sam zoomed in on the man and brought up a previous picture. "Look." He turned the computer back to Cas and Dean. The man in the street was the same man in the picture from 1957.

Cas leaned in for a better look. "That has to be the same man."

"He hasn't aged a day has he?" Dean set his beer down. "If he's been popping up for decades, somebody's bound to know who he is right?" Sam nodded. "Is there any chance Terry is still local?" Dean pointed to the little girl from the '57 story.

Terry was still local and worked at the hospital. Sam and Dean went to talk to her while Cas watched the camera feeds for anything strange. The man apparently lived on the street Terry grew up on and went by Mr. Snider. With the address in hand, they headed out to pay a visit to Mr. Snider.

They stopped for food on the way and ate in the car as they waited for the man to show himself. After about half an hour, he still hadn't showed. "What exactly is this guy, a vampire that got too sucky?"

"No," Sam had a mouth full of food, "the coroner said there was blood in the bodies. 300 year old blood, but blood."

Cas looked out the back window and saw the suited man step out into the rainy night. "Dean." Cas pointed out the window. Sam and Dean looked over and watched the man walk around his house.

"Alright, let's do this." Dean readied his gun and put his hand on the door handle.

Sam reached out for his arm. "What's the plan here exactly?"

Dean glanced at both of them. "Don't die." Dean opened his door and the others followed. They quickly caught up to the unexpecting man. "He's heading downtown. Sam, take the streets. We'll take the ally, meet us in the middle." Sam nodded and headed off down the street. Dean and Cas followed the figure down the ally.

A couple blocks later, Dean and Cas turned a corner to see a red light glowing in the distance. The man was holding what looked like a homeless man up and red light was shooting from one to the other. "Son of a…" Dean looked at Cas and he nodded in understanding. They both took off running at the same time. The suited man looked up but seemed unaffected by the charging men. Dean and Cas jumped and tackled the man just as he exploded in red light.

Sam had turned the corner in time to see his brother and Cas disappear in a flash of red, along with the man they were following. Sam ran to where they had been. "Dean! Cas!" He looked around him and saw nothing but the shriveled remains of the homeless man who had been the last victim. "Dammit." Sam ran his hands through his hair. Now what was he going to do?

Dean, Cas, and the mysterious fedora man landed with a thud on the cold concrete. Cas had a hold of the man's neck and Dean was holding his arm. He easily tossed Cas off his back and tried to pull his arm free of Dean.

Not being used to this kind of travel, Dean's head was spinning. He saw Cas fly off the man in front of him. He grabbed his arm as he tried to run. The man slapped Dean's hand. Dean caught sight of a ring with a symbol on it before another hit knocked him loose from the man.

Cas was on his feet quickly and pulled Dean up from the ground. They took out their guns and went after the man as he ran back toward the street. "Hey!" Dean and Cas emerged from the ally and stopped short of the street, no longer able to see the man. They looked around in shock.

"Dean, what happened?" Cas looked around with wide eyes. Distant music that was definitely not from 2012 was playing as women and men cowered away from them. Everyone was dressed in old fashioned clothing, not like when Dean and Sam were in Colorado, but more like the 50s. The old cars in the street supported that theory.

A pair of cops stood out of one of said old vehicles. They pointed their guns at Dean and Cas. "Hey, you two drop the guns." Dean and Cas looked at each other. "Put 'em down." They lifted their hands and put the guns on the ground. The officers cuffed them and brought them to the station.

They had searched them and taken all their hidden weapons and badges. The two of them were cuffed and sitting in an interrogation room and one of the officers was looking through their belongings. Cas was sitting quietly but Dean was shifting and rolling his eyes.

"Can I just…"

"No." The officer had already told Dean to be quiet enough times.

"Listen to me."

"Hey, if you tell me you're from the bureau one more time, I'm gonna air you out myself. Got it?"

Dean bit his lip in frustration. He looked at Cas with an irritated stare. Cas gave him a 'calm down' look. The officer picked up Dean's phone and flipped it open.

"No signal?" The officer leaned towards them. "What are you two? Some kind of Jerry spies?"

"Jerry who?" Cas might have been human for a while but he still didn't understand some of their terminology.

The officer shook his head and put the phone down. "And a terrible one at that." He picked up their FBI badges. "These badges were issued 68 years from now." He dropped them on the table. "Ace work kraut-munchers."

Dean furrowed his brows. 68 years? He started doing the math in his head. He almost had it when Cas spoke up. "1944?" He looked at Dean with frightened eyes.

"We're stuck in 1944?" Dean felt his heart start to race. How had they traveled through time?

The officer laughed lightly. "We're all stuck in 1944 you bunnies." The officer sat up when he heard the door to the small room open. A man wearing a tan coat and fedora stepped in with a file. The officer quickly stood up and straightened his uniform. Dean and Cas tried to see who it was but the dim lightly made it almost impossible.

With his hat on, the officer walked to meet the man by the door. He put a hand out, "Take a powder."

The officer nodded. "Yes sir." He stepped around the other man and left the room. The man walked up to the table with slow, heavy feet.

"Look," Dean really didn't want to be stuck in this room anymore. He wanted to find out how the Hell he and Cas were in 1944. "I don't even like sauerkraut so you can just skip past the…"

"What happened in the ally?" The man cut him off. "And paint me a real picture."

"Alright," Dean glanced at Cas who was trying to see under the man's brim of his hat, "well we were chasing this dude. We had just seen him mummify a guy." Dean smiled, knowing that this was just another cop who would write them off as nuts. The man stopped looking through his file and tilted his head up a little more. "Yeah, so we jumped him, then he lights up red and poof, we're in 1944." Dean was still trying to wrap his head around being in the past.

The officer stepped up and pulled a chair back to sit at the table across from them. He dropped the file on the table. As he sat he took off his hat. They finally got a good look at the dark haired man. He looked at Cas. "Tell me more about the red light."

"Are you seriously asking?" Dean didn't think anyone would believe them at all.

The man looked at Dean. "You want out of this jail, you're gonna tell me everything you can about that man and the so called light."

"There isn't much to tell." Cas hadn't spoken once since they were arrested, but this man seemed to genuinely curious and interested in what they had to say. "We saw it all around us and then we were here."

He seemed to consider that for a moment before taking a breath and leaning on the armrest of his chair. "Would you say that it was only around you or more that it came from inside this fella?" He shifted like he was finally getting something he had been waiting for.

"You believe us." It wasn't as much a question as a statement. Even without his grace, Cas was incredibly tuned in to the thoughts and feelings of those around him.

"Wait," Dean leaned forward a little, "are you," he pointed at him with cuffed hands, "you're a hunter."

The man shifted and tried to look natural. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Demons, ghosts, shifters, I've killed them all." Dean saw hope finally. If this guy was a hunter, he could get them out of here. "And this guy," he pointed at Cas, "you wouldn't even believe me if I told you his story. And you're just like us, just 68 years before."

The man looked between them with calculating eyes. After a moment, he cracked a smile and extended a hand to Dean. "And the name is?"

"Dean Winchester." Dean took his hand and shook it, grateful for this lucky happening.

He turned to Cas with the same hand. Cas took it. "Castiel…" he paused. He wanted to say Winchester, but he didn't know if he should.

Dean cut in, "Novak."

"Yes, Castiel Novak."

The man nodded and held on to Cas's hand. "Ness. Elliot Ness." Cas could feel Dean shift next to him. He looked and saw his face go slack in shock. Cas had never seen him look like that. Eliot withdrew his hand and stood, promising to get them released immediately. Cas thanked him as Dean seemed incapable of speaking.

When Eliot had left, Dean stood up and let out a series of excited laughs. "Oh my God! Eliot Ness. Cas," He grabbed the front of Cas's jacket, "it's Eliot Ness."

Cas smiled at Dean's excitement. "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"Are you kidding?" Dean let him go. "How do you not know who Eliot Ness is?"

Cas stood up and raised his hands. "Dean, there are a lot of things I don't know that you seem to think I should. Who is he?"

"The Untouchables? Chicago cop fighting Al Capone?"

"I don't know what that means."

"Oh my God." Dean covered his face. "We have to watch that movie when we get back." At Cas's still confused look, Dean waved his hands, "Don't worry, Cas. The dude is awesome and he's a freakin' hunter." Dean voice got higher as he practically bounced in excitement. Cas smiled at how happy he seemed.

A few minutes later, one of the officers came in and took off their handcuffs. Not long after that, Eliot came back in without his coat. Dean jumped and walked over to the table. "I gotta tell ya, Untouchables is like, one of my most favorite movies ever." Dean was still almost giddy.

"What?" Eliot sat in the same chair he had before.

"I must have seen that thing like 50 times." Dean leaned on the chair Cas was sitting on.

"Seen it like…?"

"Oh yeah, you don't even know. You are like..." Dean made a gesture of size before Eliot cut him off.

"Wait, wait, let's just slow it down, okay?" Eliot lifted his hand. When Dean calmed down he looked at Cas. "Now time travel. Is that something you find up a lot of sleeves in the future?"

"No. Not without some help."

Dean sat in the chair next to Cas. "It's not normally on the menu. We're just as surprised as you are that we're here."

"So we're hunting the same thing, just in different centuries?" Eliot sounded a little in awe of that. He sat back briefly and smiled. Then, all business again he pushed a file across the table. Dean opened it and moved it so Cas could see it. "Now, two bodies just a few days apart over a month ago. One witness said he saw the assailant light up red after sucking the life out of a man."

Dean shook his head. "Awesome."

Eliot looked confused. "What about that fills you with awe?" Dean didn't have an answer. "Look, Dean this thing kills…"

"In threes." They said it at the same time. "But you already knew that." Dean smiled.

"He's two down." Eliot leaned back as they looked through the file. He watched them and considered his options. It was no contest. He stood up and gathered his file. "You two are coming with me." Dean smiled and quickly pulled the file together. "We gotta catch this thing before it grabs the last one."

Dean stood up. "So am I an Untouchable now?"

Eliot paused and looked at the two of them. "It means we have to get you into some new clothes. You look like a pair of bindlestiffs." He turned away and walked through the door.

Dean looked down at his clothes. "Stiff your brin…bin…what?" Dean looked back but just got a shrug from Cas. They walked out to follow Eliot out of the station.

Eliot drove them to a small shop in town to get them some current clothing. Dean seemed to still be distracted by the different era and had to be pulled inside by Eliot. A small woman was facing away from them when the bell rang above the door. Without looking behind her she spoke, "What's the ruckus, Eliot?"

"Ezra Moore, Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak."

Ezra turned her chair to face the men. She looked at them, seemingly unimpressed. "What are these two, some kind of farmer clowns?"

"They're uh," Eliot took off his gloves, "from the future."

Ezra looked at them with the same expression. "Yeah," Dean thought she might be a little more surprised, "gas costs four bucks, get cheese out of a spray can, and the president is a black guy." Eliot gave him a look of disbelief. "I could go on."

Ezra shrugged and stood up. "Ain't we impressed?" She looked them both up and down. "I assume you need some clothes?"

Cas had gone first, getting measured and trying on suits and shoes. When he was done, he was wearing a deep blue three piece suit and tie, his hair was slicked down, and he looked more gorgeous than Dean had ever seen. He smiled when Cas stood in front of the mirror and Ezra handed him a fedora. Cas put the hat on and looked himself over.

Dean went next and came out with a dark three piece suit and a blue tie. Ezra had slicked down his hair and parted it to the side. Eliot whistled when Dean walked out. Cas smiled and could see how excited Dean was. Dean walked to the mirror as Ezra straightened the edges of his suit. Dean smiled, "Awesome."

"Awesome? You some kind of religious fanatic?"

"No," Eliot was reading the newspaper sitting across from Cas, "he just like saying that."

Ezra shrugged and moved around in front of Dean. "So, spill already, what bucket of syrup did you two idjits step in to?" Dean laughed lightly as Ezra stepped aside. "Something funny, sweetheart?"

Cas caught Dean's eye in the mirror and gave a half smile. He had caught it too. "No, it's just, for a second you reminded me of someone."

"So, Ezra," Eliot folded the paper up and put it on Ezra's desk, "it seems we need your help hunting a time traveler."

"Delightful."

The four of them gathered around some of her books she had hidden away in the shop. Dean told them about the symbol on the traveler's ring, thinking it could be important. After drawing it out and looking through a book, she found it. "It's the infinite hourglass. That's the mark of Chronos."

"Chronos?" Dean felt like that name was familiar.

"The God of Time?" Cas leaned forward on the table.

"What? How do you know that?"

"I know a lot about mythology, Dean." Dean looked at Cas in confusion. He knew who this Chronos was, but he didn't know Eliot Ness?

"Okay, but why is he killing people?"

"Sacrificing rituals maybe?" Cas looked at Ezra.

"Could be, he's killing folks for his time juice."

"Alright, but how the Hell are we supposed to ride him back to 2012?"

Ezra shrugged. "Well, you could let him grab you if you don't mind him using you as gasoline."

"Look," Eliot was more concerned about the murders, "let's stick with what we know. Ezra, do you think you could find something in all this junk that can kill a god?"

"No trouble at all. Come back in a few hours. I'll see what I can find."

Eliot nodded in thanks and walked up to Dean and Cas. "You fellas said you found his house. Let's see if it's been built yet and let's kill that bastard because that…"

"Is the Chicago way." Dean put his hat on and looked up dramatically. Everyone in the room gave him a strange look.

"The Chicago way?" Ezra was holding their jackets.

"Who talks like that?" Eliot was looking at Ezra.

"Sean Connery." Dean was a little disappointed that no one seemed to get his reference. Cas patted his back as he got his coat from Ezra and Dean followed after Eliot went outside.

They drove to Chronos' house and Dean peaked through the window at the top of the door. "It's empty. Got a lock pick?"

"Sure." Eliot kicked in the door and pulled out his gun.

After a surprised look between the two of them, Dean and Cas followed after him. They made their way to the living room. "Look around." He gestured for them to move. Dean and Cas looked around the room. "How's he get the lettuce to support this?" The three of them shifted through desk drawers and closets.

Dean saw a leather bound book on the table and peaked inside. He saw newspaper clippings and writing. He picked it up and leafed through it. Dean laughed, "He's using the Biff strategy."

"The what?" Eliot walked over to look over his shoulder.

"Chronos is betting on races he already knows the outcome of." Cas moved to stand behind him and look at the book.

"He's been spending a lot of time in '44." Eliot pointed to all the entries under that year.

Dean nodded and pointed to a set of initials. "What's L.Y.?"

"It's not a what, it's a who. Lester Young. He lays bets for a lot of flunkies in town. I saw we pay him a visit."

They drove off and picked up the small man. Dean and Cas roughly carried the struggling man into the interrogation room at the station. Eliot followed close behind. Cas pushed Lester into the chair. "Hey, hey watch the jacket." Eliot set his hat on the table. "I ain't talkin'."

Dean walked up and punched Lester, making the chair fall backwards. Eliot gave him a disapproving look. Dean shrugged. "I learned it from watching you." Eliot shook his head.

Cas picked up the chair, with Lester still on it, and put it right side up. Dean and Cas took off their hats and coats as Eliot sat on the edge of the table close to Lester. "Look, Lester, you seem like a swell guy and I want to help you, I do, but my partner here," he nodded at Dean who had taken off his suit jacket, "he just got back from the war. He's spent the last two years kickin' in Nazi skulls. If he don't kill in a skull every couple days, he gets real touchy."

Dean was unbuttoning his cuffs. "Lester, that a German name?" Dean raised his voice and looked up at the cowering man. Cas held on to the back of the chair and watched, trying not to smile.

"Okay, okay there's no need to snap your cap." Lester looked at Eliot. "Who you lookin' for?"

"Fella by the name of Snider."

"That guy? Fella never missed a bet, but he gave me the heebie jeebies so I cut him off."

"Where'd you meet him for the payoff?" When he didn't answer, Eliot looked at Dean. Dean advanced on Lester and raised his fists. Cas held Lester's shoulders.

Lester tried to scoot back in the chair. He raised his hands. "The Early Bird, the dive on Hagoney. He practically lives in the joint."

Sam and Jody Mills had been working together to try to find a way to get Dean and Cas back. They had discovered that they were up against Chronos, God of Time, but they didn't know what to do now. Jody had brought most of the contents of Bobby's storage with her and they were looking though them.

They seemed to simultaneously find information. "That's it." Jody sat up with a small book in her hand.

Sam leaned back. "Dammit." He stopped when he heard Jody and turned around. "Okay, yours sounds better. You first."

She read from the book in her hand. "It says here that people could summon Chronos to compel him to tell them their futures."

"And I've got the spell to do it right here."

"So why the dammit?"

Sam sighed. "Because calling Chronos isn't the problem. It's summoning him when Dean and Cas are right there. Literally with their hands on the guy so they can surf him back."

"That's not automatic?"

"No, it's more like we need to get the timing right on their side to the exact second."

"Or we get an angry god and no big brother."

"And they'll be trapped there forever." Sam and Jody deflated and tried to see if there was any other possible way to bring them back.

The three of them were sitting outside the bar waiting for Chronos. They had been there for about twenty minutes. Chronos was inside, but he wasn't doing much. "Kinda cutie for a God." Eliot observed as he pulled out a flask from his jacket and took a drink. He offered it to Dean in the passenger seat.

Dean smiled. "I thought you were Mr. Boy Scout."

Eliot laughed. "Why do you think I went after Capone in the first place? Guy had the best hooch in Chicago."

Dean laughed. "So, who died in your life and made you a hunter?"

"Died? Nobody died you morbid son of a bitch. I do this because vampires were turning folks in Cleveland."

Dean nodded. "That's when you got the bug?"

"That's when I got the bug." He took another drink from his flask. "Sometimes you just wanna punch through the red tape with a silver bullet. Yeah, huntin' sets me free." He looked at Dean and Cas. "You two know why you hunt?"

Cas smiled weakly. "My answer is complicated."

"What does that mean?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You two are from 2012. How much worse can it get?" Cas shook his head. "Try me."

"Okay."

"Cas."

"Dean," Cas looked at him, "he wants to know." Dean lifted his hands in defeat. Cas sighed. "I was an angel, recently turned human."

"What?" Eliot turned to look at Cas in the backseat. "All angels look like you?"

"No, this is a vessel, not my angelic form. I hunt because I don't know what else I even could do."

Eliot looked him up and down. "Sure, okay." He looked forward again. "There's a god of time, why not angels too?" He looked at Dean. "What about you? You a reincarnated king or somethin'?"

Dean laughed. "No, I'm the normal one. As much as it gets I guess." He sighed. "I used to do it because that's what my family did." Eliot nodded. "But they just seem to keep dyin'." Cas could hear the sadness in his voice and wanted to reassure him somehow, but didn't know if he should. "Tell you the truth, I don't know why I do much of anything anymore."

Eliot made a face. "Boo hoo, cry me a river you nancy." Dean and Cas were taken aback. "Tell me, are all hunters as soft as you in the future? Everybody loses everybody, and then boom your time is up. At least you're making a difference." He looked back into the bar. "Enjoy it while it lasts kid. Hunting is the only clarity you're gonna find in this life. That makes you luckier than most."

A young woman in a red coat walked out of the bar and crossed the street in front of the car. Eliot and Dean watched her. "Hello, nurse." Eliot's head followed her movement.

Dean nodded and Cas leaned forward to smack his arm. Dean jumped and mouthed 'What?' Cas shook his head.

The woman disappeared into the ally. Movement caught Cas's eye. He saw Chronos exit the bar. "Hey." He pointed for the others to look. Chronos crossed in front of the car, following the same path the girl had taken. Once he was out of sight, the three of them got out of the car. Eliot popped the trunk and revealed one similar to Dean's but with older models of guns.

"Sweet merciful awesome." Eliot handed them each a Thompson and grabbed a shotgun for himself. They took off after the god.

They rounded the corner and saw him gaining on the girl. They raised their guns, ready to strike when the man grabbed the girl and pulled her into a kiss. They exchanged confused looks as the couple got into a car and drove off. They followed the car back to a house and stayed about a block back.

Eliot had talked to a passing farmer and walked back to Dean and Cas, who were waiting in the car. "The owner of the house is a Lila Taylor, 20 years old, lives alone. Take the car back to Ezra and see what see's got. I'm gonna stay here and watch the house."

Dean handed Eliot his gun and shifted to the driver's seat. Eliot walked off toward the house as Dean pulled away and drove back to Ezra.

She did have something for them. A way to kill Chronos. "That's it?" Dean pointed to the small stake on Ezra's desk. It was a lot smaller than the stake he used to kill pagans.

"That, is a thousand year old olive, carved by vestal virgins, and dipped in the blood of you don't wanna know. Pulling it together wasn't easy," she put a hand on her hip, "you boys owe me, smoothie."

Dean smiled and picked up the small stake. "You can have whatever you want." He handed it to Cas, who looked it over with a critical eye.

"Take your twig wise guy." She waved them off.

"How does it work?"

Ezra walked over to Cas. "You stick this end," she pointed to the tip, "into his heart. Miss, and he has you for supper. Make sense?" She looked at Dean.

"Wait, if we kill Chronos, we're stuck here?" How had that not occurred to him before?

"You just now realized?" Dean and Cas shared a disappointed look. "Oh come on, 1944 ain't so bad."

"Yeah, I can head over to Europe and punch Hitler in the neck."

"Oh there's lots of ways to pass the time, sugar." Ezra grabbed Dean's lapels on his coat and pulled him in for a short kiss. Dean kept his hands out and his eyes were wide open in shock. Cas would have felt upset but he was fighting to keep a smile down. She pulled back. "That's for luck." She wiped away the lipstick she left behind. "Because I'm lucky."

"Thanks." Dean's eyes were still wide. Ezra walked to the back of the store. He turned to Cas and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Dean, you have a new girlfriend."

"No," Dean smiled.

"No, no," Cas put a hand on his chest, "I know when I'm outmatched and," Cas laughed, "I might as well step aside."

Dean pushed Cas as they laughed. "Shut up." He grabbed Cas's coat and pulled him closer. "Come here." He kissed him and wrapped an arm around him. "You know, being stuck here really wouldn't be so bad. Except…"

"Sam." Cas took a step away from Dean.

"He would be all alone. He doesn't have anyone there now."

"We'll get back."

"How?" Dean ran a hand over his face. "We kill Chronos, we're stuck. If we don't find him, we're stuck. I don't see a way back."

"There has to be something." Cas turned the small stake in his hands. "Some way to talk to Sam, to leave him a message where he will find it."

Dean looked up. He wished there was a way he could. A thought struck him. "Wait." He looked at Cas with wide hopeful eyes. "Yes! Yes!" He grabbed Cas in excitement and kissed him. "Ugh, you're a genius!" He started looking around the office.

"What? What is it?" Cas was trying to jump on Dean's thought train.

"Back To The Future 3." He said it like that should explain everything. "Ezra," he called to the back of the shop, "can I borrow some paper?"

Dean drove them to the house they had stayed in in 2012. It was currently a nice, inhabited home. He still hadn't explained exactly what he was going to do, but Cas had seen him write a letter to Sam. Cas figured he would leave it in the house, hoping it survived 68 years. "Come on." He tapped Cas's leg and they got out of the car.

Dean knocked on the front door and an older man greeted them. "Can I help you, son?"

He flashed his FBI badge quickly. "Yes sir, I am special agent Costner. This is Special Agent Connery. We're part of the department of homeland termite invasion."

"Termites?"

"Yes, sir. There has been an outbreak in this whole area and we just want to do an inspection to make sure the perimeter is secure."

"Yeah, of course. You better come in." The man stepped aside to let them in. Dean thanked him and quickly headed up the stairs. Cas followed after him.

"Termites, Dean, really?"

"Just what popped into my head." He entered the bedroom and turned the light on. It was the same room Sam had won the privilege of sleeping in. "Here, help me." Dean crouched to pick up the end of the bed. Cas helped him move it away from the wall. Dean took a pillow and dropped it on the floor and laid down where Sam had put his sleeping bag.

"Dean?" Cas stood over him with his hands out.

"Cas, come here." He held his arms up towards him.

"Dean, I don't think…"

"Come here. Lie down." Cas sighed and lowered himself to the floor beside Dean. "Okay, if you were sleeping here, where would you look the most?" Dean was staring up at the ceiling.

"Well, he probably wouldn't face the wall." Cas shifted to lay on his right side.

The owner shuffled into the room. "Is everything okay up here?" He looked around at the disheveled room.

Dean sat up. "What? Yeah, no don't worry. We are going to install something in this house that will keep it around forever." The man nodded and left them to the room, looking a little worried.

"Dean."

"What?" Cas was pointing ahead as he faced the far wall. There was a post the stuck out near the doorway. "Perfect." He stood up and over Cas to crouch by the post. He took out his pocket knife.

Sam had been told, forcefully, by Jody to go get some sleep and Sam took the opportunity. He landed on his sleeping bag with a huff and buried his face in the pillow, which was his jacket. It wasn't very comfortable. He shifted and tried to find the best way to try to sleep. He stared at the far wall for a second before turning away and closing his eyes.

Wait! Sam flipped his head around and looked at the far wall again. He thought he saw something. He reached for the small portable light he had sitting beside his head and turned it on. When he pointed the light at the wall, he saw it. His name was carved into the doorframe.

Sam scrambled up and across the room. He used his knife to pry the board free of the wall. There was a tiny square of folded paper lodged in the whole left by the board. Sam took it out and opened it. It was a letter from Dean dated November 5, 1944. Sam ran down the stairs to show Jody.

After leaving the note for Sam, Dean and Cas headed back to Lila's house. They jogged up to the front but couldn't see Eliot. "Ness." Dean called out in a hushed yell. "Ness!"

"Dean." Cas pointed to the small shed by the car they were standing behind. It looked like the door had been smashed out. They walked over and filled the room with their flashlights. There was no sign of Eliot.

They hurried to the front door and Dean pried the lock open with his knife. They walked into the living room. The house seemed empty but a pair of shadows behind the kitchen door made Dean stop and go for his gun. A heavy weight then slammed Dean into the floor. Chronos had tackled him.

Punches flew and Cas took out the stake he had in his jacket. "Hey!"

"Ethan!" Everyone looked as Eliot came out of the kitchen with Lila held at gunpoint.

"Let's talk."

Chronos stood, releasing Dean. "Don't hurt her."

"Ethan," Lila was crying, "what's happening?"

Dean stood up with a hand to his sore neck. "Yeah, Ethan, what the hell?"

"I'm sorry." He looked at Lila. "Everything I said to you was true."

"Oh he might have left out a few details. Did he tell you he is a monster who jumps through time?"

"I'M A GOD!" Ethan threw a glare at Dean. He softened and looked back at Lila. "I'm not a monster. I'm the opposite."

"Well," Eliot held Lila close, "don't forget to tell her about all the people you killed along the way, boy scout."

Tears fell down Lila's face. "What?"

"It's not like that. I do it for you, Lila."

"I don't understand."

"He's not as strong as he used to be. Isn't that right, Ethan?" Dean took a couple steps closer to where Cas was waiting with the stake. "No, you gotta go out and suck people dry. I guess it takes three kills to juice you up."

"Sacrifices." Chronos corrected him. "Three sacrifices, then I can control when and where I land. But once I do I'm not there for long before I'm tossed through time again. That's my life, Lila. All I want to do is get back here."

"Because you just love the clean Canton air." Eliot tried to keep the man's eyes away as Dean snuck closer to Cas and the stake.

"Because I love her! Because I lived the worst existence imaginable and then I found you."

"After you killed Tyler Crosby and Cathy Porter? Lila was going to be victim number three, am I right? Don't act like you never killed a soul before you met her, pal. That you used to kill three saps just for a change in scenery."

"Yes, I did." He stepped closer to Lila. "But now I have you."

Dean slowly took the stake from Cas and moved closer to Chronos. "I knew Cathy. She used to come into the diner every day."

"Lila, please."

"You are a monster."

"No, Lila, please." Lila glanced as Dean raised the stake behind Chronos and he flipped around and smacked Dean's arm away, throwing the stake out of his hand, and grabbed him by the throat. Eliot pushed Lila away and shot Chronos a couple times in the back. It had no effect.

Cas charged in and wrapped his arms around the god's throat, trying to get him to release Dean. Dean's vision started to go white. Chronos suddenly turned red and released Dean in surprise. "No!"

Dean fell forward and took gasping breaths. Cas was about to let go when Chronos held him in place with one arm and pulled Dean close with the other. The red light swelled around them. "Hey, untouchable!" Eliot was crouched on the ground with the stake in hand. He tossed it to Dean just as they disappeared in a flash of light.

Sam and Jody turned as wind and red light filled the room. Three figures landed on the floor and an object went sliding by Sam's feet. "Dean." Jody called out and ran to help him. Chronos stood and pushed the hunters to the floor.

Sam picked up the small stake, he could guess its function. He walked up behind Chronos. "Hey." The god turned right into the stake as Sam stabbed him in the heart. "Was that the best you got?"

He fell to his knees, red light pulsing like a heartbeat through his veins. They all watched as the god laughed and smiled at Sam. "You want to know your future? I know your future." He looked back at Dean and Cas. "It's covered in thick, black ooze. It's everywhere." He looked back at Sam. "They're everywhere." He laughed. "Enjoy oblivion." Chronos choked and fell to the floor in death.

The room fell quiet as the four of them let the words sink in, leaving a cold chill through all of them.


	12. Chapter 12

The four of them loaded Bobby's possessions Jody had brought from his storage place into the Impala. Jody kept the rest that didn't fit and followed the boys back to their Montana cabin. They set everything inside the doorway and thanked Jody for all her help. She was standing by the door. "No problem, boys. Let me know if you need anything in the future okay?"

"We will."

"It was nice to meet you, Cas." Jody patted his shoulder. "I've heard a lot about you. We need to chat sometime."

Cas smiled. "Sounds good." Jody waved and left to head back to Sioux Falls.

"So," Dean slipped off his coat, he and Cas were still in their 1940 attire, "are we looking for a new job or are we gonna relax for a little?" Cas shrugged at Dean's question. They looked at Sam. "Sam?"

He was staring blankly at the closed door. Dean moved a little closer to him and repeated his name. Sam didn't seem to hear. Dean shook his shoulder. "Sam!"

Sam jolted and looked at them. "What? Yeah, sorry…I'm here."

"You okay Sam?" Dean kept his hand on Sam's arm.

"Yeah, sure."

"Why don't we just sleep and see what we want to do in the morning?" Cas could tell Sam needed the rest and he and Dean hadn't slept in a couple days anyway.

"Sure." Sam stepped away from Dean and walked slowly to his room.

"You think he's really okay?"

"I don't know, Dean. We'll just have to watch him."

Dean nodded. Cas moved over to lean on the kitchen counter. Dean took the moment to admire his husband. Cas had removed his jacket, suit coat, and tie. His white shirt was unbuttoned a couple at the collar and he was starting to open his vest. Dean slipped his suit jacket off and turned Cas around to face him. "Let me do that."

Cas smiled and relaxed against the counter. Dean slowly slipped the vest buttons open and pulled Cas close for a short kiss. He pushed the vest over his shoulders and off. Dean laughed. "What?" Cas rested his hands on Dean's arms.

"Your hair." It was still slicked down and the most put together he had ever seen. Cas reached up and nervously ran a hand through it. "It needs a little messing." Cas titled his head in confusion. Dean got his fingers wet a little in the sink behind him and tousled Cas's hair, making sure to pull it a few times. Cas laughed and went with the treatment. With his hair sticking up in all directions, Dean smiled. It looked like the first time he saw him. "Much better." Dean leaned forward and kissed him hard. Dean led Cas away from the counter and into their room.

They spent the next day looking for the next job and found one that looked good in Washington. When they got to their motel, Sam said he would get a separate room. "Why, Sam? It's cheaper for one." Dean was more worried about the mental welfare of his brother, than the cost.

Sam shrugged. "I know, but I know how hard it is to have any kind of good relationship with all the crap we do." He looked between Dean and Cas. "I want you two to have some…privacy and time to be alone. It's not a big deal."

They spent the first night together, as the need for research was greater than sleep that day. After visiting the family, they figured they were up against an angry spirit. Sam and Cas found themselves in the haunted house while the family was away and Dean was digging up the bones. Sam was on his phone with Dean, "Yes, you have the right place, Dean. Keep digging. Cas and I are fine." Sam hung up and shifted the shotgun in his hand.

"Dean whining again?"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, you'd think we asked him to dig a fifty foot hole." He shook his head and looked around the room. They moved down to the basement where most of the activity had taken place. It was silent for a minute and Cas was beginning to wonder if Dean had already burned the bones. "Cas!" Sam aimed his gun toward Cas and fired.

Cas moved and turned in time to see the poltergeist dissolve from the salt round. He raised his gun and waited for it to show up again. Sam then flew across the room as a high cackle echoed through the basement. The ghost wasn't visible long and quickly evaded Cas's shot. "Sam, you okay?" Sam grumbled and rubbed where his head hit the wall.

A sharp pain shot through Cas as a thin wire wrapped itself around his neck. He choked on a shout and was lifted to his tiptoes. His air supply was cut off as he pulled uselessly at the wire. Sam stood and ran to him, trying to free him from the constricting cord. It wrapped tighter in response.

Shrill laughter rang out in the basement again. Sam pulled out a knife and tried to cut the wire but was knocked to the floor. Cas struggled and choked for air. His vision was turning white and his legs were going numb. Sam lifted Cas, trying to relieve the pressure on his neck and Cas could gasp out a weak breath, but the wire only tightened. He gripped Sam's shoulders and closed his eyes. He was dying. This is how it would end, strung up by a pissed spirit.

Cas's grip loosened and he thought for sure he was done when a loud scream brought back hope. The spirit disappeared in a flame and Cas landed flat on his feet. Sam quickly removed the wire from Cas's neck and sat him down. He was gasping in air and his head was spinning.

"Cas, are you okay? Cas?" Sam held Cas's head up. Cas nodded weakly. Sam's phone rang. "Dean? Yeah, we're alright." Sam helped Cas stand and waited outside for Dean.

Back at the motel, Sam went back to his room while Dean and Cas went to theirs. Dean lifted Cas's chin up. "Let me see this." He grimaced at the black and blue line around his throat. "God, that looks awful." He touched the line lightly and Cas pulled away with a hiss. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm fine." Cas smiled at Dean's worried look. "Relax, Dean." He leaned in and kissed Dean trying to reassure him. He still seemed hesitant, so Cas wrapped an arm around him and pressed him close. Dean started to respond and reciprocate.

Jackets and shirts were quickly thrown off along with pants and shoes. Dean then found himself seated near the headboard of their motel bed with Cas straddling him. They kissed passionately and held each other close. Cas reached down and took Dean in hand, moving slowly at first as Dean moans into his neck.

Cas kissed Dean's temple as Dean stretched him open with two fingers. He moaned as fingers pressed his prostate. "Dean, please." Cas moved his hips up and rested his forehead on Dean's.

"You sure?" Cas nodded and shifted above Dean. Dean removed his fingers and lined himself up and urged Cas down. Eyes closed as Dean entered Cas. Cas moved slowly until Dean was fully inside him. Both men sighed and Cas wrapped his arms around Dean's neck.

He only rested a moment before pushing up and slamming back down, making Dean cry out in surprise. Without giving him time to speak, Cas moved again and again, faster each time. His hands gripped Dean's hair tightly as he thrusted down on him. They both let out short noises of pleasure with every thrust. Dean held Cas's shoulders as he rode him hard.

Cas threw his head back and moaned as Dean hit the perfect spot inside him. Dean slid his hands to his hips and thrusted up into Cas. Cas leaned forward and pulled Dean in for a rough kiss. Tongues moved together and bodies moved in sync as both men chased their release. Cas moved his head to Dean's shoulder and took shaky breaths while feeling his insides tighten and curl. "Dean," Cas groaned and sank his teeth into Dean's shoulder. Dean moaned and thrusted into Cas one more time before coming with a moan of Cas's name.

The feeling of Dean coming inside him and the way he moaned his name sent Cas over the edge. They held each other close as their bodies relaxed. Feeling no need to move for any reason, Cas and Dean just enjoyed the warmth of the other being so close. Cas whispered close to Dean's lips, "I thought I was dying."

"What?" Dean rested his head back against the wall.

"I thought I was gonna die in that basement, and all I could think about was that I would never see you again."

"Don't worry, Cas." Dean tilted his face to meet his eye. "As long as you're with us, nothing is gonna happen to you." Cas nodded and met Dean in a kiss.

The following day, news of demonic omens in California caught their eye and they were off to take them down. The man possessed was holding his wife and daughter hostage when they found him. Shots rang out and Sam tried to get him with the knife, but he just laughed and sent them flying through the room. He cut the wife's throat before taking hold of the hysterical teenager. "Stop!" Dean held his hand out. The demon smiled. "Why are you doing this?"

The demon laughed. "Because I can." He raised a knife to the girl's throat. She cried out in terror.

Cas peaked around the doorway and fired a salt round into the demon's face. He growled in frustration and dropped the girl. She crawled away quickly. He looked at Cas with death in his eyes but then softened and smiled. Cas cocked the shotgun and aimed when black smoke shot out of the man. The body fell limp and blood oozed out from wounds they had inflicted.

"Is he gone?" Dean looked around the room, shotgun ready.

"I don't know." Sam looked at the fallen husband. He wasn't breathing.

Dean was about to get the daughter outside when a sound chilled him to the core. Cas was laughing. It was wicked and unnatural, like when the leviathans had control of him. Sam looked at Dean with wide eyes. "Cas?"

Another laugh rang out and Cas walked through the doorway to the left of the others. He smiled as he raised his gun toward the girl. She moved to stand behind Dean. Sam moved over to block her completely. Cas rolled his eyes and dropped the gun. "Like I need that anyway." Black engulfed his eyes as he raised a fist in their direction. All three of them fell in screams of pain. He dropped his arm and released them.

"Get out of him!" Dean looked at the thing possessing Cas. "NOW!"

"Or what?" His eyes cleared and he tilted his head. "What will you do?" He opened his arms wide. "Go ahead, shoot, cut, hit. You'll only hurt him."

"Exorcizamus te, omnis…" Black eyes flashed again as Sam was made voiceless.

"Do that again, and I'll send _you_ to Hell." Sam glared at him.

Cas walked over and dragged the young girl from behind Dean. Dean sat up and fired a shot into Cas's chest. He cried out in pain. "Ow, Dean. That hurt." He lifted the girl up and took the knife Cas carried and held it against her throat.

"Don't, please." Dean put the gun down and stood slowly. The demon watched with a smirk. "Let her go. You have us. We mean more don't we?"

"There are orders from Hell not to kill you two," he looked between them, "but I don't take orders from Crowley. Lucifer loyalists like me make our own trouble." In a quick motion, he sliced through the teenager's throat. Blood rushed over his fingers as the girl slumped to the floor.

Sam threw Ruby's knife from his position on the floor but Cas caught it before it reached him. "Thanks, Sam." He looked at it in admiration. "I always wanted to take this from that Ruby bitch. Should come in handy."

"Get out of him, now!" Dean looked up with pleading eyes.

Cas looked at him and seemed to consider it for a moment. "No, I like this body." He looked down at himself and took a breath. "It's strong. Of course, being an angel's vessel I suppose it would have to be." He smiled. "Why would I give that up?"

"Cas, fight him. Send this bitch back to Hell."

The demon laughed. "Please, this body might be strong but the thing inside it isn't." He leaned over Dean, "He's scratching away in here, but believe me he can't beat me." He looked Dean up and down and lifted him to a standing position. "I would really love," he leaned in closer to Dean, "to tear you apart."

He stepped back and smeared the blood on his hands around his fingers. He looked at Sam, who was still glaring at him on the floor. "Oh, Sammy," he crouched in front of him, "I could just kiss you. Lucifer's vessel. You got to spend all that time with him in the cage." He leaned on his hands and looked closer at Sam. "He's still there though isn't he? Messing around in your head." He smiled. "Oh, I envy you. I wish I could see him all the time."

"Stay away from him!" Dean couldn't move but he still tried.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt him. Lucifer is doing enough. It won't be long." He stood up. "Soon you'll kill yourself and end up right back with him. Trust me, the worst is still coming." He winked at Sam before turning back to Dean.

The demon licked blood off a finger as he walked over to Dean. "Well, since Sam is no fun I'll go with you." He brought Ruby's knife up to play across Dean's lips. "I'll do you a favor though," he leaned in, "I'll kill you quickly." He raised the knife high and brought it down, suddenly stopping an inch before it hit Dean.

His hand shook as he tried to push through the seemingly invisible barrier. Dean watched in confusion as the demon grabbed his wrist and tried to force the knife forward. When he couldn't, he stumbled back and dropped his arm. He then hunched over and seemed in pain. When he looked up again, Dean could tell Cas was in control.

Dean also felt the demon's hold release and Sam jumped up from the floor. Cas stumbled forward and grabbed Dean. "Dean," his voice was shaky and weak, "you have to kill me."

Sam ran over and took the knife from Cas. Dean held Cas up when he started to fall. "No, Cas, no one is killing you."

"Please, you have to." He gripped Dean's jacket tight. "I can't hold him back long."

"Sam." Dean nodded to him, wanting him to start the exorcism again. Sam was holding the knife up, ready to strike.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursion infernalis adversarii, omnis legio…"

Cas cried out in pain and fell in Dean's arms. He pushed Dean away and sent Sam flying with a wave of his hand. They were both pinned again as Cas's eyes grew black and he got the knife back with telekinesis. "Okay, maybe I underestimated him a little." He pulled Cas's knife out of his pocket. "Since Cas wants to be a martyr so bad, I'll help him out."

He pointed the knife inward and raised him arm. "NO!" Dean cried out beside him. He stopped and looked at Dean. "Please."

"You're begging, Dean, really?" He laughed at the sight. He then fell back as if punched and grunted. "No." He dropped both knives and curled into himself. The brothers were set free as Cas fell to his knees.

"Dean, please. STOP ME!" He grabbed his hair in frustration.

Dean knelt beside him and grabbed his shoulders. "It's okay, Cas. We will."

Sam started up on the exorcism again and Cas lashed out, knocking Dean over and attacking Sam. He took a few punches before Dean splashed holy water in Cas's face. The skin burned and Sam flipped them around, pinning Cas to the floor. "Get out of him!" Dean held the knife up to Cas's neck.

Cas laughed, earning another face full of holy water. "Get out of him, or I send you to Hell." Sam held Cas's arms tight. Dean pressed the knife down harder, cutting the skin. Sam started the Latin again but was knocked back by the demon, freeing Cas's arms.

Dean was distracted long enough for the demon to get the knife from him and stabbed forward viciously. The knife sank in to Dean's leg. Dean cried out, putting his hands close to the deep wound. Sam punched the demon and pinned his arms again. "Dean, you with me?"

With a grunt, Dean leaned forward. "Yeah, just…" Blood was leaking out of the wound.

"You don't want to touch that too much, Dean." The demon smiled cruelly, "I didn't get the artery, but I got close enough."

"Shut up!" Sam tried to keep the demon focused on him. "Leave him."

"Why don't you just kill me? Cas wants you to."

"Leave now."

"No." He smiled and laughed at Sam's anger. The demon managed to pull an arm free before Sam could stop it and roughly ripped the knife from Dean's leg. Dean screamed and fell back. He stabbed out in Dean's direction and barely missed his hand.

Sam leaped up, dragging the demon with him. He twisted him around and got the knife back and held it to Cas's neck. "I will kill you, you son of a bitch." At the demon's laugh, Sam made a shallow cut on his arm before bringing the knife back to his throat. "Leave or die."

The demon must have realized how serious Sam was because Cas weakened in his grip and a black cloud shot out of him. Sam dropped the knife and released Cas. He checked on Dean and helped him stop the bleeding on his leg. Cas was on the floor, breathing heavily and staring at his blood covered hands. Sam might have heard the low sobs coming out of him, but he never mentioned it to him.

When Sam managed to stop Dean's leg from bleeding, he got everyone to the car and drove them back to the motel. It was painfully quiet as Dean laid on the bed, Sam sat in front of his laptop, and Cas sat stone still in the open chair across the room turning the anti-possession pendant between his fingers.

"Dean," Cas sounded tired, "why didn't you kill me?"

"I can't kill you, Cas."

"You should have." He looked down at the pendant. "Tell me something," he stood up and faced Dean, "if anyone else, if the husband had stayed possessed, would you have killed them?" Sam and Dean's silence was answer enough. "Why am I different? Dean, I could feel it. I killed that girl. I felt the blood run through my fingers and I felt pleasure in it." Disgust was clear in his voice.

Sam looked sympathetic. He knew what it was like to be possessed. "I genuinely wanted to kill you, both of you. The idea of ripping you apart made me happy."

"It wasn't you, Cas."

"Yes it was. I felt it." He stepped closer to the bed Dean was on. "I killed and you wouldn't stop me."

"We did stop you."

"I almost killed you, Dean." He pointed to the bandaged leg. "And the demon is still roaming the earth looking for the next kill. You could have stopped it and you didn't."

"Cas, you're family. We will not kill you."

"Than you're a moron!" Cas squared his shoulders. "The murders that demon carries out are on you as far as I'm concerned."

"Shut up, Cas!" Dean wanted to stand up but his leg prevented any movement. "You need to accept that being in this family changes some things. We don't just kill each other when we get possessed or brainwashed, we fix it and we suffer for it most of the time. That's just what we do."

Cas shook his head. "Well, maybe I need to think over some things and get back to you." Cas picked up his jacket and opened the door.

"Cas." Dean rolled his eyes. Sam stood up and followed him out the door.

Cas was pulling on his jacket when Sam grabbed his arm. "Cas, wait." He stopped and faced Sam. "I know how you're feeling. I was possessed once too. I felt exactly like you do now. Please, just come back in and we can talk about this."

"I'm sorry, Sam. I can't." He pulled his arm out of his grip and walked through the motel parking lot.

Sam closed the door lightly behind him. "Where is he?" Dean sounded angry and concerned.

"I don't know."

"Where'd he go?"

"I don't know, Dean. He's upset, and I understand. He'll come back." Dean huffed. "He left on foot. He can't go too far right? Just give him some time to cool off."

"Whatever." Dean crossed his arms and leaned against the wall behind him.

Neither one of them suspected that it would be almost a week before they saw Cas again.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: Mentions of infidelity in this chapter. I kinda wish I had written this a little differently now, but it's way too late to change it.

* * *

Nine days had passed since Cas had left their motel room. Sam and Dean had both tried to contact him after a couple days, but they never got any response. Once Dean's leg had healed enough, they had moved to avoid the leviathans. They stayed near the same town in case Cas tried to come back. They were in a new hotel when the seven day mark came around. A new case had caught their attention and they started work. Dean grumbled and said Cas was probably dead and they should just leave. It took Sam a while to convince his brother to give Cas more time.

They worked the case a couple days when a light knock sounded on their door. Sam stood and propped his gun against the wooden door as he opened it. Dean stood close behind with his gun in hand. Sam dropped the gun when he saw who was standing outside. "Cas?"

Cas was wearing the same thing he left in and looked beyond tired. He smiled lightly, "Hi." Sam was about to open the door fully when Dean pushed past him and roughly pulled Cas into the room.

Dean punched Cas once before Sam pulled him back. "Dean, stop it!" Cas touched the side of his face where Dean had hit him.

Dean pulled himself loose from Sam's hold and rushed at Cas, shoving him into the wall and crashing their lips together in a hard kiss that was all teeth and desperation. He held his collar and felt the anger of the past nine days finally being released. He broke the kiss and grabbed Cas's face. "Nine days. It's been nine days, Cas."

"I know. I'm sorry." Cas didn't try to push him away or calm him down. He knew the anger was deserved.

"One text, one phone call, that's all we needed. We just wanted to know you were alive." Dean's voice was low in a mix of anger and relief.

"I needed some time alone." Cas pushed Dean back gently a couple steps.

"What were you doing?" Sam had turned away when Dean pinned Cas, but had moved a little closer now.

Cas looked at Sam. "I was hunting the demon," he looked at Dean, "that you let escape."

"Alone?"

"Yes, Dean." Cas's face turned angry. "I've been killing demons longer than either of you can imagine. You think I can't handle it alone?"

"As a human? Yes."

Cas narrowed his eyes. "I'm glad that you have so much faith in me," he said sarcastically. "I've learned a lot from the two of you and I am resourceful. I'm sick of being underestimated."

"Okay," Sam put his hands up and put on a calming voice, "it's just that…you left with nothing. You had no way to kill or hurt anything."

"I told you, I'm resourceful and very intelligent." Cas turned his eyes to Sam. "I tracked the demon, found him, trapped him, and sent him to Hell."

"You know a Latin exorcism?"

Cas rolled his eyes at Dean. "Yes! I have all the knowledge I did before. I've told you this." Cas took a step towards Dean. "In fact, I used an Enochian exorcism which is shorter and much more effective. It will be a long time before he crawls his way back out."

"What did you do then?" Sam hoped to keep the arguing to a minimum.

Cas sighed and looked at Sam, softening slightly. "I took a couple days to think, to decide if I wanted to come back."

"What does that mean?" Dean stepped into Cas's line of vision. "You didn't want to come back or what?"

"I know how upset you both had to be. I have left before, Dean."

"Yeah, for a few hours."

Cas lowered his voice. "And do you remember what happened when I came back?" Dean's face fell and he looked down at his feet. "You can understand me wanting to think about whether I came back or not."

"Cas," Sam wasn't sure what Cas was referring to, but the look on Dean's face told him enough not to ask about it, "you still should have let us know what you were doing. We were thinking the worst."

Cas nodded. "You're right."

"How did you find us?" Sam stepped closer as Dean turned and walked off to sit on one of the beds.

"I knew from your messages that you were still in the area, so I started searching motels in town. It took a while but when I saw the Impala, I knew you were here." Cas laughed lightly. "Frank was right. That car is way too easy to find and track."

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright well, at least you're back now and you're safe. That's what matters right?" He continued when no one reacted. "So, Dean and I have been working a case. You can help us out." Sam's phone rang in his suit jacket. "Hello?" Sam walked off to answer the phone.

Cas looked at Dean, who was sitting on the bed drinking out of Bobby's old flask. He walked up to the seated man and rested a hand on his shoulder. Dean looked up only meeting his eye for a moment. Cas squeezed his shoulder gently before moving his hand to Dean's hair. Dean leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. "Did you miss me at all, Dean?"

Dean smiled and opened his eyes. "Yeah, of course I did." He stood and moved into Cas's personal space.

"Really?" Cas leaned his face closer.

"Yes." Dean closed the space between them with a short kiss.

Sam walked back into the room while putting his phone back in his jacket. "That was the professor. Apparently he found out some background information about that symbol and he wants us to see it."

"Okay." Dean moved away from Cas and over to Sam. "Come on, Cas, get changed and we'll fill you in on the case on the way to the professor's."

Cas changed into his Fed suit and rode with them to talk to the professor. Sam and Dean were investigating deaths of men who had their feet and hands cut off before having a symbol carved into their chests. This professor was looking into the symbol.

He paced in the front of a classroom, the three of them were seated a couple rows back looking at a projection screen with a slideshow of pictures. "You know, identifying this was no day at the beach. Lesser scholars would have crumbled."

"Professor," Sam was getting fed up by this man's need to boast about everything he did, "the symbol?"

"Yeah," he looked back at the picture, "it's ancient, regional, very difficult to identify. But, I managed to find a match. It's a variation of a symbol associated with the Greek Pantheon. The temple of the Goddess Harmonia. According to myth, the coupling of Harmonia and Aries, the God of War, produced the Amazons."

"Amazons?"

"Like Wonder Woman?" Dean smiled at the thought of a bunch of Wonder Woman clones running around the town.

"No, like a tribe of warriors. They actually existed, comic books are just silly perversions. This symbol, I believe it originated with the Amazons. Pictographs meant to pay homage to Harmonia. Occult talismans if you will. They had an exclusively female culture, no need for men whatsoever, except procreation."

"All the victims were male." Sam was hoping there weren't really Amazons in the town.

"So you said. With this symbol carved into their chests."

"With their hands and feet cut off."

"Now that," the professor pointed at him with a big smile, "is interesting."

"Caught our attention." Dean glanced at Cas as he absorbed all the new information.

"After they were impregnated, they killed the male. First cutting off certain body parts."

The three of them looked at each other. They thanked the professor and headed back to the hotel to see if they had a way to kill Amazons somewhere in Bobby's old books. Cas was in the bathroom as Sam booted up his computer. He looked at Dean, who was taking off his jacket and tie. "Dean, are you gonna talk to Cas?"

"About what?" Dean untucked his shirt and started looking through Bobby's books.

"You know what."

Dean paused. "Sam, there's no need to tell him. He won't find out and it was a mistake anyway. Don't worry about it."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Don't worry? Dean, he deserves to know."

"No he doesn't." Dean's voice raised and he looked at Sam with warning in his eyes. "If you tell him I swear…"

"I won't tell him, you should. We know better than anyone, Dean, secrets don't stay buried." Sam glanced at the bathroom door. He stood up and moved closer to Dean to talk quieter. "If he doesn't find out about it from you, he's gonna be pissed."

"No Sam, he won't be pissed. He'll leave, again. He can't leave, Sam."

"Just tell him. Tell him you made a mistake."

"NO!" Dean looked back at the bathroom. "He can't find out. I will not lose him."

Sam was about to speak again when the bathroom door opened. Cas stepped out wearing casual clothes. He looked between the angry looking brothers. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Dean turned to him with a fake smile, "why wouldn't it be?"

Cas nodded and walked to the refrigerator. He knew they were lying.

"You know," Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, "I think I'm gonna go get my own room."

"Why?" Cas stood up with a beer in hand.

"You're back," Sam moved closer to the door, "I don't want to be in the way for when you two," Sam waved his hands, "reunite or whatever." His smile was fake and forced. "I'm sure you both have a lot to talk about." He gave Dean a hard look.

"I don't know what you mean." Dean glared back at his brother. Cas looked between them, waiting for someone to pull out a gun.

"Sure. I'll be back soon." Sam left to go to the front desk. Dean let out a muttered 'Bitch' as the door shut. Cas took a drink from his beer as he watched Dean shuffle through Bobby's books with a little more force than needed.

"So, what's that about?"

"Nothing."

Cas laughed lightly. "Right." He smiled as Dean frowned at the books in front of him. "These walls aren't that thick, Dean," Dean froze, "I know you two were fighting. Anything you want to talk about?"

"Nope." Dean shook his head.

Cas set his beer down on the counter and walked closer to Dean. "Nothing?" Dean shook his head. "Dean," he put a hand on his shoulder, "I could've sworn I heard my name a couple times."

"You didn't hear right." Dean was still sifting through the books, avoiding Cas's eyes.

He knew Dean was lying but he didn't want to push it much more. "If you say so." He sat on the edge of the bed beside the dusty box of books. He saw Dean relax slightly. "There is something I want to tell you, Dean." Dean grumbled in response. "I thought a lot while I was alone and…I know why you did what you did." Dean looked up. "I may not like it much, but I understand. I just wanted you to know that I'm not angry about it anymore."

Dean took his hands out of the box and felt his chest clench. Here was this man that has given so much and asked for nothing but mutual trust and respect sitting there forgiving Dean for something that had caused him pain and distress. What he was hiding from him now seemed so much more of a betrayal. He really didn't deserve this man at all. "Me neither." Cas smiled at him.

Dean walked around to stand in front of Cas. He reached out and took his hand. "Did you like it though, being alone?" He traced a finger over Cas's palm. "Not having to deal with me and Sam, the fighting and late nights."

Cas laughed softly and curled his fingers around Dean's. "Actually, I kinda missed all of that. I didn't like being on my own, sleeping alone, doing everything alone." He pulled Dean's arm, bending him forward. Cas leaned up and let his lips barely touch Dean's. "I missed my husband."

Dean let out a shaky breath as Cas brought his free hand up to trace across his lips with light fingertips. He closed the distance between them quickly with a hard kiss. Cas returned it eagerly, his hand grabbed onto Dean's shirt collar. "I missed you too, Cas." Fingers moved to unbutton Dean's shirt as Dean pushed forward to lay Cas flat on the bed. Cas broke their kiss and pulled Dean closer. Dean leaned in to plant warm lips on Cas's neck.

Cas sighed and held Dean's head close as he kissed a line down his neck. He arched up into the other man. He really had missed this. He hardly had any human contact the week he was gone. Holding Dean's hair, Cas bit and kissed at his jaw. Dean sat up, pulling away from Cas to start undressing him. It was then that Cas noticed something. He reached up to pull the collar back from Dean's neck. There was a dark, circular bruise on the nape of his neck. "Dean." Cas had to push Dean back to get his attention. "What is that?"

"What?" Dean tried to look, but he obviously couldn't see it. "What is it?"

"That." Cas pressed a finger into the bruise. Dean sucked in a breath in pain. His face then quickly turned pale. Realization hit Cas like a cold stab to the chest. He should have recognized that shape earlier, he'd left enough of them on Dean before. Dean was trying to come up with an excuse and failing. "I don't believe it." Cas shoved Dean roughly, knocking him off the bed.

Dean caught his feet on the ground, but backed up when Cas stood up with anger clear in his face. "Cas…"

"I can't believe that I bought it, all of that 'I missed you' crap." He kept advancing on Dean until his back hit the counter.

"Cas, look…I know, it was wrong, I made a mistake."

"Yeah, you did." He let out a bitter laugh. "Sure didn't take you long."

Dean's voice rose. "It wasn't like that."

"Then how was it?" Dean looked at the floor. Cas crossed his arms. "Dean, tell me the truth. No matter what I ask, I get the truth. Is that clear?" Dean nodded numbly. "Good." Cas licked his lips. He didn't want to hear any more, but he had to know. "Why? Tell me why you did this."

Dean took a few breaths, trying to calm down. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at Cas. All he saw looking back was fury. It was then that something surfaced in his mind. He knew he shouldn't say it, but he couldn't stop. "No matter what you do, I'm not going anywhere. You remember saying that to me?" It came out harsher than he meant.

Cas narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to make this my fault?"

"No! It's not your fault." Dean put his hands up. "But you left. I didn't want to believe it, but I truly thought you were dead, or that you weren't coming back." Cas dropped his arms. "I was angry and tired and…lonely."

"You weren't the only one." Cas's voice was small, but still angry. He looked up with cold eyes. "When did this happen? It obviously wasn't that long ago," he gestured toward his neck, "the bruise hasn't faded much."

Dean tightened his lips. "Two days ago. The same day we started this case."

"Wow," Cas turned and took a few steps away, "so, seven days is all you need to replace me?"

"Come on, Cas." Dean moved forward and grabbed Cas's arm. "I was not trying to replace you. No one can do that." Cas ripped his arm out of Dean's hold. He turned to face him. "I was at a bar, trying to just drown myself in it because I thought you were gone. She was there and she was very…blunt with what she wanted, and I just…" Dean ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry."

"Did you like it, Dean?"

"What?"

"You heard me." Cas stepped a little closer. "Did you enjoy it? Was it good?"

Dean didn't know if this was some kind of trick or not, but he didn't want to lie. "Yeah, it was. She was there and I needed it."

Cas nodded. "Just one more question. Can you honestly promise me that this, no matter the circumstances, will never happen again?"

"If you're with me, Cas, this will never happen again."

"That's not what I asked."

Dean sighed. "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth."

"Fine." Dean put his hands on his hips. He didn't want to think about a time when Cas was gone, but if something like this happened again Dean didn't know what would happen. "I don't know if I can promise that."

Cas nodded like he had expected that answer. "Okay." He walked back to the box of books left on the bed.

"That's it, okay?"

"Yeah." Cas turned a couple of the books over.

Dean had expected more yelling or fighting. His brain told him to leave it alone, but his mouth didn't get the memo. "So are you leaving again?"

"I should." Cas looked back over his shoulder. "Give me one reason I should stay."

"Because I love you." Dean smiled weakly. He saw Cas roll his eyes. "I do, Cas. I didn't do this to hurt you or spite you or anything. I know it was a mistake and…I need you." Cas turned back to face the box. "Sam needs you too. We fight too much when you're gone." He heard Cas laugh softly. He walked up behind him and lightly touched his back. Cas stiffened and smacked his hands away. "Please, Cas, don't leave again."

"We're on a case." Cas straightened and turned a blank look toward him. "I won't do anything until the job is done."

"Oh," Dean looked at his hands, "yeah, okay. We'll keep it professional." Cas nodded curtly. Dean didn't know whether to be relieved or worried. He truly thought he would get a few choice words and a fight before Cas took off and never looked back. They were still looking at each other when Sam loudly entered the room.

"Alright, got that all worked out." Sam stopped when he saw the serious faces and practically felt the tension in the room. "You guys okay?"

"Fine." Cas walked around Dean and retrieved the beer he left on the counter. "We have some research to do."

"Yeah." Sam looked between the two and knew what must have happened. Dean looked like he'd been punched in the stomach and Cas's eyes were shooting lasers at Dean's back. He walked over to his laptop and sat down. Dean started looking through the books again. After finishing his drink, Cas grabbed a handful of books and sat across from Sam to look through them.

When Sam thought it was a little safer to bring up, he voiced something Cas needed to know. "Did you tell him about what you saw with Lydia?"

"Was that her name?" Cas bit out the words.

Dean clenched his jaw. "Yes and no I didn't." Cas put down the book he was looking through and turned to Dean expectantly. "Well, I noticed something that seemed strange. When I first met her, her house was like any single woman, nothing out of the ordinary. Then I went back the next day to get something I left behind and suddenly she had a toddler."

"Who talked apparently." Sam's tone implied that he didn't quite believe Dean.

"Yeah she did, like full adult sentences." Cas furrowed his brows as Dean continued. "I watched outside for a couple hours and when she came out the girl was at least 5 or 6. She had the same name too: Emma. It just seems really weird to me."

"Maybe she just had two girls you didn't know about."

"No, she didn't."

"Right, 'cause you knew her so well." Cas was glaring at Dean. He returned it.

"It's just something else to keep in mind when you look through your books. It could be related, it may not." Sam wanted to keep the two from fighting. They broke their stare and started searching again.

After a silent session of research, Dean dropped a book covered heavily in dust and coughed from the cloud it kicked up. "Would it have killed Bobby to have a system?"

Sam looked up from his screen. "He does have a system. Everything is set up like his brain."

"You find anything?"

"Yeah actually," Sam opened one of the web pages on his screen. Cas set his book down. "There's this whole crazy side to the Amazon lore that Professor Morrison didn't even mention."

"That's because he doesn't believe in it, which is a big handicap when you're trying to deal with it."

"Right. Apparently there was this long bloody war, the Amazon population was decimated so they made a bargain with Harmonia to replenish their ranks and make them stronger."

Dean let out a soft laugh. "I'd say throwing grown men through walls is stronger."

"Right, well basically they became more than human, Harmonia turned them into monsters."

"Can you still kill them like humans?" Cas leaned closer to look at the screen.

Sam looked at the screen and shook his head. "It doesn't say. I guess it could go either way."

Dean sighed. "Well that's helpful. What else?"

"The lore says they reproduced quickly." Sam started talking slower as he read ahead. He looked at Dean. "As in, after mating they gave birth within 36 hours." Cas started connecting the information he had gotten over the past hour. "Babies grow incredibly fast and then the aging process became normal." Dean looked up. He was finally starting to connect the dots. "Which is one way to make an army I guess. The mating cycle is every two years. They send out all the women of child-bearing age."

"Which lines up because this happens every couple years in different towns right?"

"Yeah, and we know that at least some of the victims hooked up with strange women days before being killed Amazon style."

Dean was looking more nervous by the second. "Hooked up in the same bar I met Lydia right?" Cas looked up at Dean as he stood from the bed he was sitting on. "And then suddenly she has this baby in like fruit fly time. That little baby turns into a little girl just as fast."

Sam's eyebrows rose up higher. He looked at Cas and they both looked at Dean. They all knew what the other was thinking. "Wow, so maybe you're…"

Dean held out a hand. "Don't say it."

"If that kid is yours…"

"I said, don't say it." Dean looked at Cas. Cas had closed his eyes and was shaking his head. As if the cheating wasn't enough, now he could have a daughter. A monster, Amazon daughter. Could this be any worse?

"Dean, seriously? You have a one night stand," Cas stood up and walked away from the table, "and you don't even…"

"Of course not, Sam! I'm not brain dead." Dean looked at Cas as he rubbed his forehead. He didn't know if Cas would be able to keep that promise of finishing the job before wanting to leave. "But I don't know maybe…no…I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Fine, but if it happened…"

"I know, I need to hang on to my hands and feet." Dean looked at Cas, who was still looking away. He couldn't imagine what he was thinking. Now he wished this case could have been resolved before he came back.

"I guess we should keep looking for a way to kill them, in case they don't die like humans and to maybe help track them down."

"Yeah." Dean sat down again and tried to look through the book he had earlier. He found it hard to concentrate while worrying about possibly being killed and Cas, who still hadn't moved from his place across the room.

About an hour later, Cas had finally started searching again with the brothers. They ended up standing at the end of one of the beds with books and papers all over the bed. Dean was picking through the papers. "Looking through Bobby's stuff is like dumpster diving."

"Tell me about it." Sam walked across to the wall to pin up a related page he had found. Dean and Cas turned to watch him.

Dean took a drink from Bobby's flask, feeling the disapproving look from Cas. He turned away from the judging eyes and noticed something weird. "Guys, these papers just moved." Cas and Sam looked to the pile of papers behind Dean. It did look different than what they remembered. "I didn't touch 'em."

Sam moved over to his bag and took out his EMF meter. When he turned it on, it spiked with every move. "It's going crazy." Sam held it over the papers and it maxed out. He moved to the wall and it maxed again. "Oh and," Sam stopped by the window and turned back to Dean and Cas, "power lines by the open window. Where there's a breeze that could've moved the papers." Sam turned the meter off.

"Did you feel a breeze?"

"It doesn't matter, Dean, the readings are useless."

"It does seem a little strange, Sam, I have to agree with Dean."

Dean looked at the flask in his hand. "Hey do you think maybe?" He lifted the item up.

"We burned him, Dean."

"So what?"

"So what are you suggesting?"

"I don't know. What are you?"

"Concentrate on something else."

"Why?"

"Because it's not Bobby." Sam raised his voice and moved closer to Dean. Cas stepped back and looked at what page had been exposed by whatever force it had been.

"Could be."

"No, it couldn't be."

"Why not?"

"Because we want it to be."

"Guys." Cas picked up the page on top of the pile. They turned to face him. "Look at this." He handed it to Sam.

Dean peaked at the paper. "It could be useful."

"It's in a pile of 'it could be useful'." Sam looked it over briefly. "Besides it's in Greek. Nobody reads Greek."

"Except Greeks." Dean slipped the flask back into his pocket. "Oh, and Bobby."

"And Professor Morrison." He pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Really?"

"I'm going, Dean. You stay here, lock the door, and don't go anywhere. I mean it." Sam threw a look at Dean.

"Fine." Dean held out his arms in defeat.

"Cas," Sam looked at him, "you want to come with me or stay?"

Cas looked between the two of them. "I'll stay. I'll make sure Dean does what he's told." Sam nodded and dialed the professor's number as he left.

Dean was suddenly uncomfortable. He didn't really want to be alone with what looked like a very irritated Cas.

Dean sighed before sitting on the bed behind him. This had been a very bad, twisted day. He wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers and disappear. Cas had moved back to stand by the small table by the door. He was watching the door like the Amazon would bust in any second and try to kill him. "I'm surprised you stayed." Dean looked up to see Cas turn to him. "Here I mean, instead of going with Sam." Cas nodded and looked back at the door. "Why did you?"

"Someone has to make sure you're safe."

"Right." Dean huffed out a laugh. "Because I couldn't handle one Amazon."

"They're stronger than humans, Dean. You saw what they did to the other men."

"Kind of like what demons can do to humans?"

Cas closed his eyes in frustration. "Do you really want to talk about this right now?"

"Yeah I do." Dean motioned toward the bed opposite him. "Sit down." Cas opened his eyes but didn't move. "Come on. There's one door into this room. If she's coming in, it will be from there. Sit down so I can talk to you."

"I'm surprised you actually want to talk." Cas walked over with his arms crossed. "Usually I have to practically beat a talk out of you." He sat across from Dean and dropped his arms.

"Well, I don't want this to get worse." He took a deep breath. "I want you to understand."

"I understand perfectly." His voice matched his hard eyes.

"No, I don't think you do. I messed up, yeah, I admit that and I am truly sorry." Dean slid to the edge of the mattress. "But I'm not the only one who needs to apologize for something." Cas's face fell in confusion. "You left, and that's fine. If you want to leave, if you want some time off, fine. Just tell us. Tell us where you're going and what you're doing, and if you need backup, call us."

"I don't want time off."

"Okay, but just listen." Cas looked down beside Dean's leg. "When you left, I was thinking the worst. I thought you had been killed. You had the power to fix that and you didn't. What would you think if I suddenly left and you didn't hear back for over a week?"

Cas's eyes were softening and looking more hurt with every word Dean said. He hadn't really thought about what he had done to Dean while he was gone.

"You say you learned a lot about being human from me and Sam, but have you really? Because it seems to me that you're still acting like an angel. You still call yourself an angel sometimes. But, you can't act like that person anymore. You can't just take off and do whatever you want for however long you want and not contact us at all. My dad acted like that. It was reckless and stupid and you could've been killed."

Cas looked up to meet Dean's eye. "I was an angel for thousands of years, Dean. It's understandable that it takes me some time to change my line of thinking."

"It is." Dean nodded. "So maybe you should ask before you take off again, or come back within a day when you're mad."

Cas nodded slightly. They stayed silent a minute. Dean contemplated moving when Cas finally spoke. "You're right. I could have handled everything better." He looked at Dean with tired eyes. "I'm sorry."

A light knock on the door cut off Dean's response. He moved to stand up, but Cas put a hand on his shoulder and moved to the door instead. Dean stood up but stayed by the bed as Cas opened the door enough to see who it was. His gun was in his hand behind the door. He was greeted by a teenage girl. "Hi," she seemed confused by Cas's presence, "is Dean here?"

Dean moved forward at the sound of his name. Cas looked the girl over. She couldn't be more than 16 and she had a pink suitcase behind her. "Why are you looking for Dean?" He had a good idea, but he had to ask.

"I need help." Worry was clear on the girl's face.

Dean put a hand on Cas's shoulder, pushing him back from the door. "It's okay, Cas." Cas stepped back reluctantly, his gun still pointing at the girl.

"Dean," she looked relieved at seeing him, "please, I need your help. I'm in trouble and you're the only one I think I can trust."

"Why would you think that?"

She looked between the two men, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "Because, you're my father."

Dean's heartbeat picked up at that. Suddenly being faced with his three-day old daughter was not something he had been expecting. He was ready for a psycho Lydia to come busting in, not this. "How did you find me?"

"They've been watching you ever since Mom got pregnant."

"How did you escape then?" Cas was not as trusting of this girl as Dean seemed to be.

She looked at him. "I waited until lights out. The women who watch over us change shifts a little after ten."

"And you left because…?"

"They stick you in there and you trust them. It's all you know and you don't question what they want you to do." She turned her eyes to Dean as tears started forming. "Terrible things. That's why I had to leave. They tortured me." She held up her right wrist to show the symbol that had been carved into the men had been branded into her skin. "They told me I had to endure pain so I could be strong like them," tears fell down her cheeks, "but I don't want to be like them."

Dean moved through the doorway. "Okay," he pushed the door open, "come in." She rolled her small suitcase through the doorway, past Cas and to the first bed. Dean shut the door before turning to look at Cas. He still had his gun raised up about hip level. "Have a seat." She sat on the bed. He pushed Cas's gun down as he walked past him.

Cas grabbed his arm. "Dean," he pulled him close to whisper, "what are you doing?"

"Just give me a minute okay?"

"You know what she is," his eyes shifted to look at her briefly before looking back at Dean, "and what we have to do."

"Not yet." Dean gripped his wrist tight and held it down a moment before letting him go. He turned back to Emma. "So, assuming that you're not like them yet, what do you want me to do?" He leaned against the small counter across from the bed. Cas stood tensely to the side, ready to shoot at any moment.

"Get me away from here." That hadn't been what either one of them expected. "You're a good man. My mother told me that."

Dean laughed lightly. "I seriously doubt she said that and if you knew me you'd seriously doubt it's true."

"She told me you're a hunter," Dean tensed up a little and Cas adjusted the hold on his gun, "so maybe you understand about me. Maybe you can protect me, just until I can get away." Her face fell a little as she spoke again. "Then, I'll leave you alone. I know you don't want me."

"Look," Dean put up a hand, "let's not go there okay? This isn't a matter of wanting." He looked at Cas before letting out another small laugh. "You get that this isn't a normal situation right?"

"How would I know?" She raised her shoulders in a shrug. "Three days ago, I wasn't even alive. Now, here I am. My mother threw me into that place and my father," she paused, Dean looked a little nervous about what she would say. "You get that this is my last chance at having anything normal right?" Tears were in her eyes again as she pleaded for Dean's help.

Dean didn't know what to do. Part of him wanted to believe her. He wanted to help her, but the hunter in him only saw the Amazon, the monster that would kill. He looked at Cas and he could see what he wanted to do. This was his daughter. He couldn't just blow her away. "You look exhausted."

She smiled slightly. "And starving. It's been a tough sweet sixteen." Dean walked over to her right side. He couldn't stand still now. "So, you believe me? You'll help me?"

"If you really want help." Cas was surprised and worried by Dean's sudden change. "But what happens when they find out you're missing?"

"They may have already found out. They'll hunt me down." Dean nodded and turned and walked to the fridge. He opened the door. "I know this is hard, but if I'm going to get out I have to do it now."

Dean looked at the pathetic items he found in the fridge. "We got cheese and a leftover burrito."

Emma stood from the bed. Cas watched her carefully. "That's not gonna make a difference." Her voice had changed a little. She sounded more confident all of a sudden. A knife then fell out of her sleeve and into her right hand.

"DEAN!" Cas raised his gun at the same time that Dean flipped around with his in hand. She stopped and looked between the two men.

"You were asking if I believed you. I guess this is my answer." Dean moved closer to her slowly. Cas kept a shot lined up to her heart and waited.

"I was told you would be a challenge." She looked at Cas. "But I didn't know there would be two of you."

Dean smiled. "I figured you'd chat me up, try to catch me off guard. Almost worked, I was expecting your mother." He looked at Cas quickly. "Good thing I have a little backup."

"It's not my mother's place to kill you. I have to." She stared Dean down.

"Is that what they told you?"

"It's who I am."

"Well then I should kill you right now."

"Sure, but you could have done that 30 seconds ago." She tilted her head a little. "It's weirdly hard isn't it?" She looked at Cas. "For both of you."

Cas was hesitating. He knew what she was and that he should kill her, but the troubled look in Dean's eyes was making it harder for him.

She looked at Dean again. "It is for me."

"Knock it off." Dean was getting upset.

"How could it not be? You're my father."

"Hey, we're not gonna do that."

"But it's true." Dean's face was swimming with different emotions. He couldn't do it. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

Dean's hand started lowering. He wasn't going to shoot her. Cas had to. He knew he had to do it, but Dean's face was making it hard.

Emma worked with the doubt. "So now someone has to kill someone. You know, my childhood has been really disappointing."

"You haven't killed anybody yet, Emma. Walk away. Right now. I won't go after you."

"Dean."

"Shut up, Cas!"

She smiled. "I can't. I don't have a choice."

The door busted open, making everyone turn quickly to see Sam charge in with his gun pointed at Emma. Her eyes turned red and yellow as she looked at Sam. Cas dropped his gun and stepped back as Sam moved into his previous position.

Emma turned back to Dean, her voice dropping back to a scared child. "Please don't let him hurt me."

Dean looked further confused. She turned back to Sam and gave him her sad eyes. Sam only waited a second before firing a shot straight into her heart. She fell dead to the floor with a thud. Dean and Cas exchanged looks before looking to Sam. "There are still more of them out there." Sam put his gun away. "We need to finish this."

They got rid of Emma's body and drove off to where Dean had followed Emma the day before, when he didn't know exactly what she was. They figured that had to be where the rest of the Amazons were holding up. But, when they made their way inside they found that they had missed their chance. They were all gone.

The three of them packed into the Impala and left town. Sam was driving and Cas was in the back. None of them had talked since finding the empty Amazon headquarters. Twenty minutes passed before Dean spoke up. "You know what, I don't like it either. I wanted to torch them as much as you two. But hey, next time they jump us we'll be ready. If we live that long." Dean looked at Sam and Cas before turning back to the front with a sigh. "Fine, just sit there and be pissed."

Sam looked at Dean with an annoyed expression. "What did you say to me, when I was the one who choked? What did you say about Amy?" Sam was angrier than Cas had realized. "You kill the monster."

"I was going to!"

"Oh, the hell you were!" Sam's voice raised even more. "You think I'm an idiot!"

"You think I am?"

"Dean, you were gonna let her walk."

"No I wasn't. That's ridiculous." But he was really. If Emma had said she wouldn't kill anyone, he would have let her go. By the look in Cas's eyes, he might have let her go too if Dean had told him to.

"Look, man," Sam had calmed his voice a little. "She wasn't yours, not really."

Dean looked out his window with a disbelieving laugh. "Actually, she was, really. She also just happened to be a crazy, man-killing monster, but hey," Dean shrugged.

"You know what, ever since Bobby died your head hasn't been in this."

"What, and you're dealing with it so perfect?" Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, newsflash man, you're just as screwed up as I am. You're just…bigger."

"What?"

"I don't know."

Sam took a slow breath and calmed down before he looked at Dean again. "Look, the thing is…tonight…it almost got you killed." Dean ran a hand over his face. "Cas was there but he didn't seem like he was gonna pull the trigger either." Sam looked in the mirror at Cas, who looked away. He knew Sam was right. "Dean, I don't care how you deal, I really don't, just…don't…don't get killed."

Dean's face turned dark. His voice was flat. "I'll do what I can."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'll do what I can and you can shut up about it."

Sam turned to look forward and Dean looked out his side window. Cas leaned back into the seat behind him. When Emma first showed up, Cas was going to kill her but when faced with the moment when he should have, he couldn't do it. As an angel he would have killed her without flinching for a second, now he didn't know what he was going to do. He really was becoming more human. Hopefully, he could learn to embrace it or at least not be terrified. His hesitance could have cost Dean his life.

It was a long, silent drive for the three Winchesters.

They had driven two states over before Sam pulled into a small motel outside of a small town. They only had one room open, so the three of them shared it. Sam claimed the bathroom first and quickly escaped to take a shower.

Dean didn't care. He wanted to sleep more than anything. He was ready to leave this day behind him. He slipped off his shoes and pants while Cas sat on the edge of their bed. He hadn't said anything since Sam killed Emma. He was curious what was going through his mind. After slipping his jacket off, Dean tossed it to land on Cas's head.

He heard a huff before Cas pulled it off and threw it back at him. A small smile pulled up the corner of his mouth. Dean caught it and dropped it onto the pile of his clothes on the floor. He jumped onto the bed, which creaked loudly as he bounced. Cas was nearly knocked off. Once Dean had settled in leaning against the wall, he nudged Cas with his socked foot. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." It didn't sound true to his own ears.

"What is it?"

Cas tried to think of how to say it. There wasn't just one thing bothering him. He finally just shrugged. "It's just been a long day."

Dean hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I'd say so."

Cas turned to face Dean on the bed. His eyes were tired and sad. "Sam shouldn't have had to do what he did today. I shouldn't have hesitated. I don't know what was wrong with me."

"It's okay, Cas. It happens to all of us." Dean closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

He accepted that answer for now. He was too tired to think about it much more tonight. He sat silently watching Dean. He wasn't sure exactly where they stood at the moment, but if Dean was talking to him without an angry voice it had to be better than earlier in the day. Cas wouldn't forget this whole thing any time soon, but Dean wouldn't forget Cas's part of it either surely. They both had to just keep a little faith in the other and take it day by day. There was one thing he wanted to do now though.

Dean felt the bed shift as Cas adjusted himself. He heard shoes and clothing land on the floor. The mattress then dipped by his feet and followed up his legs. He could tell Cas was getting closer, but Dean didn't want to open his eyes. Warm breath hit his face and he expected a kiss, but was surprised when he felt Cas nuzzle his neck lightly. Dean involuntarily tilted his head to give him room.

Cas smiled when Dean's head tilted. He moved to the collar of his t-shirt and pushed the thin fabric back a little with his nose. Dean's hands remained down as Cas kissed the sensitive spot lightly. They shoot up quickly though when Cas bared his teeth and bit into the soft skin.

"Dammit, Cas." Dean held Cas's arms tight in a mix of pain and pleasure.

Cas bit down harder, making Dean moan against his ear. When he knew it would bruise, Cas stopped and shifted to look Dean in the eye. Dean's breathing had gotten a little shaky. "I didn't want to see the other one anymore." Cas brought a hand up and covered the other side of his neck. "Because you're mine."

Dean smirked. "I like it when you get possessive, Cas."

Cas looked at the bruise forming on Dean's neck in approval. Dean's hands tried to pull him closer but Cas pulled away. He moved to lay flat beside Dean. Dean took the hint and stretched out flat next to him. They both slipped into the sleep they needed before Sam was done taking a shower.


	14. Chapter 14

The boys spent the next two weeks looking for any sign of the Amazon women that had eluded them. They found nothing.

They were currently in a motel in Nebraska and looking for any other job nearby. Dean and Cas had been working on their marriage issues, but neither one of them wanted to dwell on any of it very much so the changes were slow in coming. Sam did what he could to help the couple, taking them out for drinks together and talking Dean into movie marathons while they had a short break. It had worked pretty well. They were all laughing and relaxed together.

Dean had been awake for an hour. He didn't want to move and wake up Cas, who was holding Dean as he slept. They hadn't been too intimate the past two weeks so he didn't want to lose what he was getting now. Sam was in his room, probably searching for a job. Dean should be doing the same but instead he was tracing a finger over the back of Cas's hand. Cas mumbled quietly and twitched his hand.

Dean pulled back for a second to let him settle before lightly touching him again. Cas made a low noise and cracked open a sleepy eye. Dean smiled and curled his fingers around Cas' hand. Cas grumbled, still mostly asleep, and lifted his hand to weave their fingers together. "Morning, Cas." Dean ran his free hand through Cas's hair.

"Mrnig." Cas mumbled into Dean's t-shirt. He never was a morning person. He stretched his tired muscles and fell limp against him again.

"Did you like the movie?" The three of them had watched the original Star Wars trilogy the night before. Dean had finally made good on his promise to show them to Cas. Cas grumbled a yes as he rolled onto his back. "Really?"

"Yes, Dean." He opened his eyes and gave him a small smile. "It was…" Cas rubbed his eyes, "interesting."

Dean sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed. He watched Cas try to wake himself up and failing. He had curled up turned away from Dean and seemed to drift off. He slipped off the bed carefully so he didn't disrupt Cas too much and put his jeans on. Sam had to be up and he wanted to see what he had found, if anything.

After walking a few doors down, Dean knocked on Sam's door. "So, you found anything on our Amazon friends?"

"No," Sam had his laptop open on his bed. Dean sat in the open chair by the bed. Sam sat on the bed and looked through a few of the open web pages.

"You looking for something else then?"

"Yep." Sam closed out a few stories that were too "everyday" to be their kind of thing. He looked over the screen at his brother. "You could help."

"I could, but why would I deprive you of your research. I know how much you love it." He smiled at Sam's eye roll. "I was actually thinking about calling Frank and seeing if he managed to turn up anything for us on Dick."

"Sounds good." Sam nodded. "Cas sleeping?"

"Yeah, I tried to get him up but…he never was an early riser anyway." They sat quietly for a minute. The only sound was Sam typing on his keyboard. "I guess I'll try to get a hold of Frank." Dean stood up and took out his phone.

After getting the run around from Frank, Dean was finally able to get him and told him to get some information. Frank told him where to go in a few days and he would call back. Dean grudgingly agreed.

A few days later, as directed by Frank, the three of them were waiting outside a payphone on a back street outside of town. Dean ran inside the booth when it started ringing. "Hello." Dean closed the door of the small booth. He sighed. "I am the eggman." Frank and his stupid passwords. Sam and Cas smiled at Dean's irritated look.

"Seriously, Frank, payphones? I mean, I'm getting the clap just touching this thing." He paused as Frank talked. "Frank Savage, really? No I know, Big Mouths are everywhere." He listened. "Uh well, since you asked, some actual intel on the Dick Roman guy would be nice." Sam looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Fine, alright, good looking out." Dean hung up the phone and slipped out of the phone booth, trying not to touch it too much as he did.

Sam handed Cas the paper to read about a story he found while Dean walked back to them. "I hope he finds out something quick. This whole protocol de jour thing is really creepin' my cheese."

"So we got dick on Dick?"

Dean gave a wary look. "That's a vivid way of putting it."

Sam smiled. "Well, since Frank isn't giving us anything." He pointed to the paper in Cas's hands. "I think I've got something in Kansas."

"Okay, let's do it." Dean clapped his hands. They left for Kansas. Sam filled Dean in during the drive.

They all tilted their heads when they saw the body of a middle aged man covered in huge circular marks spiraling around him. "Whoa, those are not the fun kind of hickies."

Sam looked at the coroner. "You're saying an octopus did this?"

"Not just any octopus. Based on the welt diameter, I would say enteroctopus dofleini."

"Okay," Dean smiled, "and for those of us who skipped the octopus class."

"Giant Pacific Octopus."

"How giant we talkin' Doc?"

"Approximately 30 feet."

"How did one get to Kansas?" Cas knew that wasn't really possible. The doctor shrugged.

"So, what…guy comes home, cracks open a beer and gets suckered to death?" Dean pointed to the body.

"I think this is some kind of freak fetish attack. Someone created those hickey marks and then bled the man out." The doctor turned the man's head and revealed a wound on his neck where he bled out.

They thanked him and walked out into the hallway. Dean looked at Sam. "Did that bite look a little vampy to you?"

"Yeah, no question."

"So what are we looking for? An octovamp, vamptapus?"

"That's crazy even for us right?"

"It does push the envelope. Let's go talk to the widow." Dean led the other two to the car and they drove to the dead man's house.

"We're very sorry for your lose ma'am." They boys were sitting across from the grieving widow.

"Mrs. Hart," Dean set his mug of coffee down on the table, "we know this is bad timing but we have a few routine questions we need to ask you if that's okay." She nodded.

Sam leaned forward slightly. "Did the house feel any different lately?"

"Different?"

Dean chimed in. "Anything strange. Cold spots, did you smell anything weird, maybe sulfury?"

She shook her head. "No, not that I can remember."

"Just ticking all the boxes here. What about any skeletons in your husband's closet?"

"Skeletons? What do you mean?"

Cas looked at the wife. "Do you know anyone that would want to do your husband harm?"

"A colleague? An old flame?"

She looked down at the floor. Sam could see she had something. "The tiniest detail could help."

She looked up at Dean. "You want to know what he's been up to lately, ask Stacy. She was here the night he died."

"Stacy?"

"Our nanny." There was definitely anger boiling just under the surface there. "Do you have any more questions?"

"No," Sam stood up. "That should be all, thank you." The three men left the house.

"Mom, dad, and the nanny. That is a threesome straight out of Casa Erotica. Of course in those the jealous wife tends to channel her feelings more productively."

Sam shook his head. "The only thing I can't wrap my mind around is…"

"What, how wife lady summoned an octovamp?"

"More of why. Kind of impractical right?"

"Yeah." Dean stepped around to the driver's side of his car. "Cas and I can go talk to the naughty nanny. You stay here and keep an eye on the wife."

"Alright."

Cas and Dean left to talk to Stacy.

"How would you describe your relationship with the deceased?" Dean was following the young woman to the kitchen as he talked.

"I don't know. Normal I guess." She was gathering magazines to throw away.

"Normal?"

"Well," she looked at both of them, "I mostly dealt with Debora." At their blank looks, she sighed lightly. "Nothing was going on if that's what you mean."

Cas stepped up beside Dean. "Debora said you were at the house late the night that Brian died."

"Yeah," she walked past them into the living room, "Brian was working late so I stayed with Kelly. She was pretty upset."

"Why was that?" Dean and Cas turned to face her.

"It was her birthday. We had a party at Plucky's."

"Plucky's?" Dean knew that name somewhere. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie? Pizza chain for kids." She raised her eyebrows. "Actually more for lazy parents. Anyway, her dad showed up for maybe five minutes and went back to work, and of course her mom was out of town. This stupid kid told Kelly her folks didn't really love her. She freaked. I was calming her down for hours."

"Did you notice anything weird at the house?"

"Weird like?"

"Anything. Even a bad feeling."

"No, nothing like that. Actually, Kelly does have a weird thing about closets but it's just kid stuff."

"Try us."

She smiled. "She thinks there's a monster in her closet. Drives everyone crazy."

"Thank you." Dean and Cas left, knowing they needed to pay another visit to the house. Dean took out his phone and called Sam. "Hey, we were talking to the wrong person."

"What?"

"Yeah, forget the mom, talk to the daughter. She's mad at her dad for ditching her birthday."

"So what you think birthday wish gone bad or something like that?"

"I don't know. Could be." Dean opened his door and Cas slipped into the passenger seat.

"I got a twenty on her right now."

"Can you get to her without tripping the AMBER alert?"

Sam laughed. "I'll try."

"Alright, see what you can find out." He hung up and got in the car and drove back to the motel.

Sam joined them about half an hour later with some take out. "You find out anything?" Dean took a bag from Sam when he opened the door to their room. Sam handed the other to Cas.

Sam sat at the small table in the room. "Sort of." He emptied to contents of his bag. "The daughter said her mom was trying to keep her from talking to us because she told the local police about the monster after her dad."

"Monster?"

"Yeah, she said she warned her dad about it before he died. That was about all I could get out of her before mom pulled her back into the house."

"Huh, well that doesn't get us much does it?" Dean unwrapped his burger.

Cas had already started into his. "Are we gonna check the house out more?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. That seems like the right choice, but I don't know if mom will let us in for that."

"Let's just keep looking for another possibility on what we're dealing with. At least tonight."

They all agreed on that and spent a few hours looking through their resources before calling it a night. Sam left to sleep in his room and Dean and Cas changed into their pajamas. Cas was standing beside the bed when Dean crept up behind him and wrapped his arms around Cas's waist. He left light kisses on the back of his neck.

Dean slid his hands under Cas's shirt and lightly rubbed circles over Cas's stomach. Cas was leaning into Dean slightly. He pushed his shirt up and nipped at Cas's neck.

"Dean." Cas stiffened and pushed his hands and shirt down. He turned in Dean's hold to face him. Dean looked confused. Cas kissed him gently before turning back and pulling the covers down on the bed.

"It's been weeks, Cas." He stayed standing as Cas sat on the bed.

"I know." He said it like nothing else needed to be said.

"You're still mad at me."

Cas frowned. "I'm not mad."

"Okay." Dean walked around to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers. "You just don't want to be that close."

"It's not that, Dean." Cas tried to think of how to say what he wanted to say. "I just…" he looked at Dean's guarded face. "Give me a little more time okay?" He leaned in close and put a hand on the side of Dean's head. "I don't love you any less." Dean closed his eyes at the words. Cas kissed him briefly and laid down. Dean followed soon after.

The next morning they heard of another murder in town. Dean and Cas left to check it out. They would let Sam know if it was related at all to the other. They got to the scene as they were rolling the body off to the ambulance. The man had been stabbed through with some kind of object, leaving a hole in a wall he was trying to hide behind. Prints in the grass on the other side of the wall led the police to think he was being chased by a horse.

Dean walked up to an officer while Cas looked at the hole in the wall. "So, the horse I get, the hoof prints, jumping over the fence but what ran him through?"

The officer shook his head. "The best I could tell you is, something big."

"What like a lance?"

The officer shrugged. "It's sad." He pointed to another officer standing beside a woman Dean assumed was the wife. "He's got to pull an eight year old out of school to tell him his dad is dead."

Dean looked back and caught Cas's eye. He gestured for him to follow. "Excuse me." He walked over to the wife with Cas catching up behind him. "Ma'am," the wife stopped and turned to meet him. Dean showed his badge, "Agent Jones FBI," he saw Cas step up behind him with his own badge out, "my partner Agent Smith."

"I'm sorry." She put her hands up. "I really need to go."

"Just one quick question if you don't mind." She crossed her arms and nodded. "Was yesterday your son's birthday?"

"Billy's birthday? No. Why would you ask that?"

"Nothing nevermind." Maybe this wasn't related.

"Well," the woman stopped from her turn, "his father did take him to a friend's birthday party yesterday." They nodded their thanks and let her leave with the officer.

Dean called Sam when they got back to the car. "Hey, do you remember a chain called Plucky Pennywhistle's?"

There was a pause. "No."

"Really? I could've sworn you loved those places."

"No dude, I hated those places. You would dump me and go trolling for chicks."

"It's not like I left you in jail. Those places are supposed to be fun."

Sam laughed. "Fun? Uh, they're lame and they smelled like puke and the ice cream is all grainy."

"Okay, don't have one of your episodes okay. I'm just having a little trouble with this whole witches gone wild thing but both kids were at Plucky's day of. Look, why don't you go check out the local Plucky's and I'll go talk to this Billy kid."

"Why don't I just wait for you to get back?"

"No can do, hair model. Cas and I are on our way to talking to Billy."

Sam's voice got a little too casual, like he was trying not to panic. "Why don't I go talk to Billy now?"

Dean laughed briefly and looked at Cas. "Wait, this isn't about your clown thing is it?"

"What?" His voice had gone a little higher than normal. "No."

"Sammy." Dean knew what a lie sounded like from his brother.

"No." His voice was weak.

"What in the world did they do to you?" He laughed again. "Alright nevermind, just know that 99.99% of all clowns can not hurt you, and if it bleeds you can kill it." He put his phone in his jacket.

"I can go meet Sam if it's that big of a problem, Dean." Cas felt bad for Sam having to face a phobia alone.

"No, he'll be fine. The man's turning 30 this year, Cas, he can handle some minimum wage workers dressed like clowns." He started the car. "Let's go see what Billy knows."

After talking to Billy and getting a semi-disturbing picture from him, Dean picked up some food on the way back to the motel and waited for Sam to come back. It wasn't too long of a wait. "So, what's the low down from trauma town?" Sam stopped and gave him a glare. Dean smiled.

"I can tell you this much, neither vic was up for parent of the year." He walked to the small bar in the room where Cas and Dean were eating. "Kelly's dad skipped a birthday and Billy's dad pulled one of those dick parent scenes that makes everyone cringe." He set a pile of papers on the bar between them.

"What the hell are these?" Dean leaned over the pages full of badly drawn pictures done in crayon.

"Kid therapy. You draw your worst nightmare and poof, Plucky fixes it." Sam took off his suit jacket. "They hang them up on this big wall."

"Well I can't argue with this." He showed Cas the picture. "Leprechauns are deadly." Sam took off his tie and huffed a small laugh. "So, Kelly draws a monster and that goes after her father? That's what we're going with?"

Sam shrugged. "But here's the thing, they label those and guess which two were missing? Well, label was there picture wasn't."

"Octovamp and Billy's."

"So whatever he drew came to life and killed his dad on a horse."

Dean reached into his jacket. "Close, but no seabiscuit." He took out the picture Billy had given them. "When we went to talk to Billy, he drew us this." Sam looked at Dean opened the page. Billy had drawn a unicorn with a rainbow tail and his dad staked through on his horn.

Sam looked at them with raised eyebrows. They both looked a little amused. "Now unicorns are evil?"

"Obviously."

"Great. Well, now the question is how did a unicorn come to life off a sketch and kill Billy's dad?"

Dean shrugged. Cas might have thought it was one of his brothers, but the ones that might have had the humor to do this were all dead. They were still thinking maybe a witch was somehow behind this.

Later that night, they went back to Plucky's to meet a janitor that had told Sam he had some information and to come back after closing. Their hope sank when they saw police cars and lights outside the building. Sam went to talk to the manager while Dean and Cas went to intercept the body on the way to the ambulance. They flashed their badges and looked under the sheet.

Sam walked over to them. "So?"

"Manager found the body in the ball pit, blood everywhere."

"Cops have a theory?"

"They think the ball washer did it."

"The what?"

"The ball washer."

Dean smiled. "The what?"

"The ball…" Sam held out his arms. "Dean." Dean laughed.

"Look at this." Dean lifted the sheet to show Sam the janitor's wound. Sam was a little grossed out. He dropped the sheet and they took the body away. "That's a shark bite."

"A shark in the ball pit?"

Dean shrugged at Cas. "Apparently." He looked at Sam again. "And judging by the radius, I would say a twenty footer at least." Sam and Cas shared a confused look they turned to Dean. He shook his head in disbelief. "Shark Week, man. How do you not watch that? A whole week of sharks."

Sam turned and entered Plucky's. Cas patted Dean's arm and followed Sam. The three of them looked through the almost painfully cheery building. They made their way to the wall of child fears. Sam noticed another missing picture. He pulled the nametag off the wall. "Omar Cooper." Dean and Cas turned their flashlights to him. "How much you want to bet Omar was afraid of sharks?"

"How would the janitor be connected though?" Cas was looking at the pictures as he spoke. "I thought they were relatives."

"Saul said he had something important to tell me."

"So this isn't about ganking some dickweed parent?" Dean watched Sam pull out his EMF meter.

"More like silencing a whistle blower." He turned the meter on.

"Great," Dean turned to the wall Cas was still looking over, "so whatever we're dealing with can literally fire off childhood fears at will. Watch out for evil lunch ladies."

"Let's comb this place." Sam went off in one direction with his meter. Dean and Cas split off with their own.

Dean groaned. "Seriously? Octopuss, Seabiscuit the Impaler, land shark. What's next?" They spent a good hour or two looking over every part of the building before heading back to the motel to try to figure out what has the juice to bring drawings to life with such fatal power.

The next morning they were still thinking. "Maybe a tulpa?"

"No, the killings are too spread out." Dean rubbed his eyes from a full night of reading.

Sam was on his computer. "True." He looked at Cas. "Angel maybe?"

Cas shook his head. "I doubt it. Most of them have returned to Heaven and this seems too indirect. They wouldn't send pictures after people."

"Meaning it's too creative? If Gabriel were still alive, I would think it was him but," Dean shrugged. Sam nodded.

"What then?"

"I don't know." Dean took a drink from what had to be his tenth coffee. "I'm tapped out."

"At least we know where it is."

"Yeah, but we swept the place and nada."

Sam leaned back in his chair. "I could go back. Drill the employees and dig up some dirt."

"What good is that gonna do? They think you're a Fed. The one guy who was gonna rat, got killed. Even if anyone knows anything, they're not gonna tell you."

"Alright." Sam clapped his hands and stood up. "That's the plan. I go back and play bad cop, really lay into them." He walked to the bathroom.

"What will that do?" Cas thought maybe Sam hadn't heard what Dean had said.

"When I'm done, you two watch them."

"And if someone freaks, that's our creep?" Dean was beginning to see Sam's line of thought.

"Or he'll lead us closer and you can track him."

"What's our cover?" Dean pointed to Cas.

"I don't know." Sam shrugged and started to close the door. "Just hang back. Act normal." He shut the door.

Dean scuffed. "Yeah two men in their 30's hanging out in Plucky's, that's normal. Not pervy at all."

Twenty minutes later, Dean and Cas were sitting at one of the small tables near the center of the place. Sam was talking to the manager. "This is ridiculous, Cas." He leaned in to whisper. "We can't just sit here like a couple creeps. Someone will call the cops."

Cas smiled. "I'm sure we'll be fine. Just relax."

Dean shook his head. A little girl walked by the table playing with a giant rainbow slinky. Dean's eyes widened and looked back to where the girl had come from. "Cas, I'll be right back." He pushed off the table and practically ran to the counter of prizes. Cas followed quickly.

"Giant slinky." Dean pointed to the prize behind the man with a way too wide smile. "I would have killed for one of those when I was a kid. How much?"

"1000 tickets."

"Cash, dude how much?"

"Oh, we don't take cash here at Plucky Pennywhistle's. Only tickets won through hard work and determination."

Dean looked him up and down. "You main-line the Kool-Aid huh?"

The man, who's nametag read Howard, giggled a little too long. "It's double ticket Tuesday if you play skeeball." The wide smile never left the man's face. Dean narrowed his eyes and turned slowly and grabbed Cas's arm.

"Cas, I'm getting that slinky." He pulled Cas to the skeeball machine. "I can do this. I only need 500 tickets right?"

"Dean, we need to watch for the employees Sam is questioning."

"Yeah, I know." He waved dismissively. He played through the first game quickly and smiled at the tickets that came out of the machine. His smile fell when there were only three. The door to the employee lounge opened and the manager walked out. "Keep going, Cas." He slapped his back and he followed the manager.

"Dean, I don't know," he was already out of hearing range, "how to play this." He looked at the machine warily. It couldn't be that hard, right?

Dean came back a couple minutes later. "It's not her. How you doin'?" Dean looked at the tickets. There had to be at least thirty of them. "What the?"

Cas shrugged. "I thought it would be harder."

Dean smiled. He pulled the tickets off the machine. Cas threw and it landed right in the 100 slot. Dean cheered and pulled Cas's arm and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I've never loved you more." Cas laughed and pushed him away playfully.

"But, mom," a young boy to their left caught Dean's ear, "I don't want…"

"Just eat." The mom, who was wearing a Plucky's uniform, put a plate with pizza on the table in front of the boy.

"But it sucks!"

She sighed and left her son at the table. Dean walked over to the boy. "Why don't you cut her some slack?"

He looked up at Dean. "Why do you care?"

"Because I've been where you are."

"Your mom made you camp out at stupid Plucky's after school?"

"No, but my dad hauled me places. Besides, she's workin' a tough gig," he nodded to the woman who was crouched on the floor cleaning up a mess on the floor. "She's exhausted. You should pity the old." He smiled. "And hey, free grub."

He looked at the pizza slice. "That stuff tastes like butt."

"What?" Dean laughed. "Come on, it can't be that bad." He reached down and picked up the plate. He took a bite of the pizza and chewed for a moment. It wasn't so…oh God. Dean let the pizza fall back onto the plate. He dropped it back on the table. "Yeah, that is butt." The boy smiled. Dean was about to leave when he saw a drawing of a robot on the table. "You scared of robots or something?"

"They have laser-eyes." He pointed to his eyes.

"Yes." Dean saw the cheery man from earlier walk past him. Sam had been talking to him. He greeted one of the kids with a big smile. He texted a negative to Sam and joined Cas at the game. He had won another impressive amount of tickets. "Dude, seriously how do you do this?" He ripped the tickets off and saw Cas smile smugly.

Suddenly, the employee lounge door busted open and Dean heard Sam call out his name. The lion mascot, minus the head, ran past them. Dean and Cas immediately took off after him. Sam followed behind.

The lion ran out the back door and down the street. Dean was faster than Cas and was hardly an arm's reach away. He grabbed out for the tail of the suit and ripped off the velcro attaching it. With a leap, Dean managed to get his arms around the employee and knocked him into a pile of tires. They bounced and rolled before Dean could stand up with the man laying on the ground with his lion paws held up.

"If this is about the meth lab, it wasn't me. It was my brother. We have the same fingerprints. Please, this is the best job I've ever had."

Sam and Cas were standing nearby catching their breath. Dean furrowed his eyebrows. "Look uh...?"

"Clif."

"Clif, you're not using kid's nightmares to smoke people are you?"

He looked like he wasn't sure if Dean was being serious. "I don't think so."

Dean pulled Clif up by his suit. "Get up." Clif kept his hands up, not knowing what to expect. "Look, we don't care if you broke bad or whatever, but there is something seriously weird going on in there."

"You mean in the sub basement?"

Sam moved in front of Clif. "This place has a sub basement?"

"Sure, door's out back. Easy to miss if you don't know."

"What's in there?"

"All I know is, me and Saul used to come in after hours and," Clif started laughing, "you ever shroom in a ball pit?" He kept laughing until he looked at Sam again. "Not that I would agents. It was Saul, just Saul. All alone. Anyway, sometimes we heard stuff, spooky stuff through the vents coming up through the boiler room."

They walked Clif back into the building. Dean saw the young boy from before with his mom. "But somebody stole it."

The mom crouched in front of him. "Don't draw another one."

Dean caught his eye and nodded to him. He deflated and looked back to his mom. "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"That placemat sucked anyway." She took his hand and walked him out.

Dean moved to the table he had been drawing at earlier and looked through his papers. "What is it, Dean?" Cas stepped up beside him.

"Earlier, his mom got pissy with him and now his placemat is missing."

Sam walked around the table. "What do you think?"

"I think, pissy mom plus sad kid plus placemat with something awful on it equals wacky corpse."

"You think she's next on the list?" Dean shrugged. "I'll tail them just to be safe. You and Cas…"

"Check the boiler room."

"Right." Sam went to follow the mom and son but stopped. "Dean, any idea what he drew?"

"Robot, about the size of a house. Shoots destructo beams out of it's eyes."

Sam nodded. "At least I'll see it coming."

"Yeah." Sam left. Dean and Cas found their way to the sub basement.

Dean led Cas through the door way into the sub basement of Plucky's. It was a dark storage room. Cas was close behind, casting a light with his flashlight. They didn't have to look too long before finding a small alter alight with fire on some kind of symbol drawn on the concrete floor. A small desk was beside the fiery alter. "Well that's perfectly normal." Dean sighed.

Cas looked around at the walls covered in drawings of kids in water. One of them was drowning. Cas shivered a little from a sudden flashback of nearly drowning in Sioux Falls. He also saw a picture of two young boys around a birthday cake. "Dean." He pointed to the picture when Dean stepped up behind him.

"Huh." Dean put his flashlight away and pulled out his gun. He saw an open book with symbols in them similar to what was drawn on the floor. He saw a paper under the book and pulled it out to see the drawing Tyler had done earlier.

"Drop it." The voice caught both men by surprise. They turned slowly with their hands up slightly. They didn't expect to find the happy Howard standing with a gun pointed at them. "Drop it." He looked at Dean's gun. Dean lowered his gun slowly and kept his hands out. Cas hoped his gun wasn't visible. "Now, kick it over." Dean pushed his gun to the side with his foot.

"Some pretty heavy hoodoo you've got here." He pointed to the book behind him. "I gotta say, as far as I know, none of these things can poop out a unicorn."

Howard stepped forward. "There's power in fear. When a child draws what he's afraid of, a little of that mojo ends up on the page."

"So what you set a fire and some bed wetter's nightmare comes to life?"

"I have to get something off the parent too, something they own. That bit gets tricky."

"That doesn't seem to have slowed you down."

"I'm just doing what I need to." Howard's voice rose.

Dean raised a hand. "Okay, I get it." He reached back and grabbed the book on the table. He tossed it across the fire at Howard. In the confusion, Dean picked up the picture of the robot and Cas took out his gun. Dean ripped the picture in half. "No drawing, no iron giant."

Howard pointed his gun at Cas, who had his own aimed at Howard. "Ugh, that b-word is still on the list, but not tonight. Bigger fish." He looked at Cas. "Drop your gun."

"Drop yours." Cas had a clean shot at Howard's forehead.

Howard giggled. His gun pointed back to Dean. "I'll do it."

"You'll be dead before you can pull the trigger." Cas's heart sped up in protective anger. "Put it down!"

"You really going to shoot me Howard?" Dean stared the wide eyed man down. "You really want a body on your hands? Blood everywhere?"

"Shut up!" Howard moved forward a little more. Cas took a half step closer to Dean. If he couldn't shoot Howard, he would move Dean or block him. "I got lots of ways to take care of bullies, don't you worry. Like that FBI guy. He's your pal right?" Dean straightened a little. "I saw you chase Clif down. Five minutes ago, his business card was torched. Along with something from my personal collection." He gestured toward a stack of placemat drawings. "I picked it out real special for him too. Soon as I saw him I noticed. He stared at every little Plucky like it was gonna stab him or something. Guy's got a real thing about clowns."

Cas looked at Dean. He looked like he wanted to rip Howard's head off. Cas looked back at Howard. "Stop it. Reverse it now!"

Howard laughed. "I can't. Everything already burned. They'll die when he does."

"Or if you do." Cas cocked his gun and aimed between Howard's eyes. He really wanted to shoot, but he was still aimed at Dean.

Dean was taking the chance to think of something to get Howard. He noticed a couple clown figures behind him. "These are nice dolls you've got. Make them yourself?" Dean picked one up and looked at Howard. His face said yes. "Oh, freakin Plucky."

"Plucky helps kids. It's all I ever wanted to do. When the management slot opened up I…" Howard stopped and frowned. "But they passed me over."

"Shocker." Dean looked at the creepy clown doll.

"I told them, no one cares more than me, but suits never listen." Dean slipped the doll into his back pocket. "So, I'm doing it my way."

"Let me get this straight. You didn't get the good parking space, so you start dropping bodies?"

"Those parents were horrible. They deserved what they got."

"What about Saul?"

"Saul had a big mouth."

"Some guy hits on the babysitter and all of a sudden he's the world's worst dad?"

"A good parent puts his kid first."

Dean advanced on Howard despite the gun pointed at him. "A little girl watching her dad get ganked by the monster in her closet. That's putting her first?"

"In the long run, they'll all be better off."

"You think so?"

"I would have been."

Dean had a thought. He looked back at the pictures of drowning kids and the birthday picture. "So your," Dean made a guess, "brother, what happened to him?"

"It's not my fault. It's theirs." Howard's gun was starting to shake.

"Looks to me like he drowned."

Howard started lowering his gun. "I was screaming but my folks didn't listen. They never listened."

"It was an accident."

"They let him die."

Dean ripped one of the drawings off the wall and held it out to Howard. "I bet you still have nightmares. In fact, I bet you haven't been in the water since."

"Shut up!"

"Because you're afraid." Dean pulled the clown out of his pocket and dropped it and the drawing into the fire alter.

Howard's mouth fell open. "NO!" He reached to pull them out of the fire, but it was too late. He shot off a few rounds at Dean. Dean dropped to the floor and Cas fired back. The fire obstructed his view, so he missed.

When the fire died down enough, Cas stopped. A young boy was standing in front of Howard. He was soaked through. He advanced on Howard. "It wasn't my fault. I'm sorry." The boy stopped next to Howard and touched his hand. Howard fell to his knees and started choking. Water shot out of his mouth and filled his lungs.

Dean stood with his gun in hand. Cas was frozen in place, watching Howard drown. Fear pounded in his chest. Even though Cas hadn't been human yet, Cas still remembered the feeling of water filling his mouth and lungs. The thought of being submerged in water scared him more than almost anything at the moment.

Howard fell to the ground in death. His brother disappeared, leaving nothing but a puddle behind. Dean let out a relieved breath and looked at Cas. Cas was staring at Howard with wide eyes. He put a hand on Cas's shoulder, who flinched. He turned scared eyes to Dean. "You okay?"

Cas cleared his throat. "I'm fine." He put his gun in his jacket and ran a hand over his face. "We should probably get this off the floor," he pointed to the symbol, "so no one else stumbles on it by accident."

"Yeah," Dean picked up Howard's book, "but first." He dropped it into the fire. "No one else can use it now." When the book had dissolved, they removed the sigil from the floor and put the fire out. Dean called Sam as they climbed the stairs out of the basement. They left Howard to be found from an anonymous tip they would call in later. Sam was alright and on his way to Plucky's to meet up.

Dean and Cas waited outside by the Impala. Sam drove up in a stolen Jeep. "Let's roll." He stepped out and sparkled in the moonlight. He was covered from hair to pants in glitter. Dean had to bite his lip hard to not bust out in laughter. Cas didn't have that much control. His laughter bubbled out at Sam's appearance.

Sam dropped his head and raised his arms. "Go ahead, say it."

"You're so sparkly, Sam." Cas couldn't stop laughing as he spoke. Dean finally let out a laugh. He leaned into Cas and the two of them laughed hysterically.

"I'm sorry." Dean faced Sam. "You look like you got attacked by some PCP-crazed strippers." Cas leaned against the Impala, holding his stomach as he laughed.

"Dude, one of them sprayed me with seltzer from his flower." Sam was smiling at the other two's laughter.

Dean had another fit of laughter. "I'm sorry." He grabbed his side, feeling a sting at all the laughing. Sam was giving him a weird look. "What?"

"Nothing, carry on." Sam smiled. He was really happy to see his brother and Cas laughing like this. They had had some fun the last couple weeks, but they hadn't laughed like this in a long time.

Dean took a couple breaths and tried to sober his voice a little. Cas had fallen into quiet giggling. "Sam, I'm sorry for psychologically scarring you."

Sam narrowed his eyes a little. "Which time?"

"Shut up, seriously. I mean, ditching you when we were kids was a dick move and the whole clown thing."

Sam shrugged. "You know what, man, getting my ass kicked by those juggalos tonight…it was therapeutic."

"You faced your fear."

"Exactly, and now what else could a clown ever possibly do to me. I feel good."

Dean laughed. "Well, congrats."

Sam held up a finger. "By the way, to celebrate." He walked back to the Jeep.

"What?"

Sam took something out through the passenger's seat window. He turned with a giant rainbow slinky in his hand. Dean's mouth fell open. "No." Sam handed it to him. "Did you win this?" Cas smiled at Dean's excitement.

"We earned that." Sam walked to the passenger side of the Impala. Cas squeezed Dean's arm as he passed him for the back seat.

"Hey," Dean set the slinky on the hood, "I got you something too actually." Dean took out a small clown toy he had taken from the basement. He tossed it to Sam. Sam caught it with a terrified look on his face. "What, you said you were over it?" Sam held the doll up by it's neck and glared at his brother. "Think of it as a clown phobia sobriety chip." Dean smiled and Sam looked at the doll with murderous eyes.

Cas and Dean sat in the car. Sam stared at the doll for a moment before pulling the clown's head off and throwing it to the ground.

Dean drove off when Sam slipped into the car. They parted off to their rooms once at the motel. Sam said something about needing to take at least three showers before getting the glitter off of him. Dean and Cas were laughing as they entered their room. Dean was holding his slinky with a smile that could rival a five year old.

Cas chuckled. "Well, you got your giant slinky."

Dean laughed. "I did." He put his new toy on the bar by the bed and walked up to Cas. He pulled the man closer by his belt loops. He kissed him with a smile. "I'll give you a giant slinky."

Cas threw his head back with a laugh. "God, Dean." He covered his face with a hand.

Dean pulled his hand away from his smiling face and kissed him again. "You know you want it." He held Cas's wrists as he laughed again and took a step back.

"Dean," his laughs finally died down a little. He shook his head at Dean's wide grin and sparkling eyes. He hadn't seen him look so happy in a very long time.

"What?"

"Nothing." He leaned in and kissed Dean, holding his face close. Dean held his waist tight. The kiss turned hot quickly. Soon they were breathing hard and pulling on each other's clothes. Cas then abruptly pulled back. "Dean, wait."

"What, Cas? Come on." Dean was getting a little irritated by Cas's constant teasing and pulling away.

"I want to do something."

Dean's anger was replaced with curiosity. "What?"

"Something we haven't done, oddly enough."

"Okay." Dean didn't know what Cas meant. They had done a lot of stuff while together and Dean was wondering what kind of weird thing he could be bringing up.

Cas walked into Dean's space and lowered his voice. "The car."

Those two words had more of an effect on Dean than he thought possible. But did he mean what Dean hoped he meant? His heart sped up. "The car like…in the car?" Cas nodded, his smoldering eyes sending a warm feeling down Dean back. He smiled and planted a hard kiss on Cas's lips. "You have never been sexier."

Cas held Dean's jacket with a tight grip and pulled him into another demanding kiss. He broke the kiss and whispered into Dean's ear, "Get the car started." Dean shivered and practically ran out the door. Cas dug their bottle of lube out of his bag and went outside to the rumbling Impala. Dean was sitting behind the wheel with a look between excited and nervous. Cas had barely shut the door before Dean was backing out of his spot and whipping out of the parking lot.

Dean drove down a dirt road off the main street and pulled off to the side. He didn't see lights of any vehicles or houses anywhere close. He looked at Cas, expecting to see hesitance or a change of mind but Cas threw him a look of wanting that made his heart race. As if given permission by the look, Cas climbed over the middle of the front seat and straddled Dean.

Lips met and hands held the other closer. Dean was surprised by Cas's eagerness. Two days ago he didn't want to let Dean touch him much. Now he was pulling Dean's jacket off and kissing him like Dean was air and Cas was drowning. Dean managed to get Cas's top layer off while Cas was busy biting his neck and unbuttoning his jeans. "Cas, slow down. There's no rush." He grunted when Cas got his hand into his boxers and wrapped a warm hand around Dean's semi-hard dick.

Cas smirked as Dean's eyes closed and his head fell back against the seat. He leaned over him and pressed a light kiss to Dean's mouth. He kept his mouth just far enough away when Dean tried to kiss back. Dean's hands were like iron grips on his hips.

"Cas." Dean wrapped his arms around Cas and pulled him up against him. Cas had to put his hands on the seat to keep his balance. Dean kissed Cas, their tongues fought for control of the fierce kiss.

Cas pushed his hips down to grind against Dean's now full erection. Dean moaned and let Cas kiss him with dizzying passion. Cas used the leverage from his hands on the seat to slide over Dean's lap in slow thrusts. "Fuck, Cas!" Dean's head fell back and his hands held on loosely to Cas' t-shirt. "Shouldn't we move to uh…" Dean closed his eyes and moaned, "to the back seat or something?"

"No." Cas moved his hands to Dean's hair and leaned in to ghost his lips over Dean's. "I like it right here." He silenced Dean's moan with another hard kiss.

Dean had actually never had sex in the driver's seat of his car before. He would gladly change that for Cas.

Cas moved back over to the passenger's seat and quickly took off his jeans. Dean was watching him and catching his breath. He pushed his jeans down past his knees while Cas took off his boxers. After taking the lube he had brought out of his pant's pocket, Cas took his position over Dean again. He handed the bottle to Dean and kissed him.

Dean coated a couple of his fingers with the lubricant. He worked open and stretched Cas until he was fucking himself on three of Dean's fingers. The windows were beginning to fog up as they both let out hot breaths between kisses. Cas pulled Dean's hand away from him and took the bottle from Dean's hand and put some on his hand and covered Dean's hard, leaking cock.

Cas lowered himself until Dean was fully inside him. He let out a shaky breath and dropped his head to land on Dean's shoulder. Dean rubbed Cas's back and let him adjust. It had been a while for them and he didn't want to hurt him. Cas started slow, lifting off Dean a little and pushing back down.

Dean wanted to thrust back into Cas. He wanted to hold his hips and fuck Cas with all the desperation he was feeling, but he couldn't. Cas was going to take his time and drive Dean insane.

Cas braced himself on the seat and on the next downward move pushed a little harder. Dean was letting out little noises of pleasure and Cas wanted to see how long it took for him to really make noise. He arched his back a little and grabbed handfuls of Dean's hair and sped up his moves. Dean's surprise made him tangle his hand in Cas's shirt and moan loudly.

"Uh," Dean squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in Cas's shirt, "fuck me, Cas."

Cas moaned and slammed down, pulling another cry from Dean. It was then that Cas realized how close he was to hitting the ceiling of the car. He put a hand up, the fabric soft on his skin. He used the new position to move his back in fluid waves.

Where did he learn that? Cas was moving like a freakin' lap dancer. "Jesus, Cas!" It felt amazing. Dean opened his eyes and felt his throat tighten at the sight of him. Cas smirked and bent down to kiss him. Dean held him there so he could thoroughly kiss him. Cas continued his movements as best he could as he nipped at Dean's lips.

Dean reached between them and started jacking Cas with the same rhythm he was using to ride Dean. It was Cas's turn to cry out and moan. He sat up and closed his eyes. His hips stuttered in their movements and Dean took the chance to thrust up into Cas as he moved his hand.

"Dean." Cas's voice was low and rough. He put his hands back on either side of Dean and pushed down to meet Dean in his thrusts. Their foreheads rested together and each man had lost whatever thoughts they had had. Their movements continued to quicken and become more desperate. They moaned and sighed each other's names, feeling their stomachs tighten and their hearts about to burst.

The vinyl was beginning to creak under Cas's grip and the car was starting to move with the movements of the couple. It only took a couple more thrusts for Cas to scream in release, followed closely by Dean.

Drained and completely blissed out, Cas relaxed into Dean, curling his arm around his husband's neck. They both let the after-waves of orgasm course through them as they held each other close. He kissed Dean's neck lightly once he felt his body fully relax. "I love you, Dean."

Dean smiled and ran his fingers through Cas's hair. "You too, Cas." He didn't want this moment to end. He didn't want Cas to move or to drive back to the motel. He didn't want to face the world anymore. All he wanted was to hold his husband close and know that his brother was safe somewhere trying to get glitter out of his hair.


	15. Chapter 15

Over the next few weeks, they had taken a couple small jobs. When one of them involved a demon, Dean finally did what he had wanted to do for a while: getting Cas an anti-possession tattoo. Cas was more than willing to go. "You sure?" They were in their motel room. Sam was sitting with his laptop. Cas and Dean were standing by the door.

"Yes." Cas nodded. "I never want to be possessed again and I don't always remember to wear the necklace you gave me."

"Alright." He looked at Sam. "You wanna come, Sam?"

"No, you two go ahead." He waved a hand.

"Okay." Dean opened the door. "We'll probably go out after so watch some TV or go to a bar or do whatever you do for fun." Cas stepped around Dean and out the door. Sam nodded to Dean. "I mean it. No work, Sammy."

"Okay, whatever." Sam smiled as Dean left, shutting the door behind him.

A little over an hour later, Dean and Cas left the tattoo shop and headed to a local bar. Cas had gotten his tattoo in the same place as Sam and Dean. It had hurt, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He rubbed it absently as he and Dean drank their beers. They were sitting at a small table off to the side of the bar. Local college kids seemed to be flooding the area with the pool tables and the juke box. Dean was internally cursing them as another pop/dance song played.

"I feel so damn old." He grumbled and took a drink.

Cas huffed a laugh. "You're not old, Dean."

"Maybe not to you." Dean smiled and set his beer down.

Their food was brought over and Dean didn't waste time digging in. Cas just picked at his food, eating little bits at a time. He seemed lost in thought. "What's wrong, Cas?" Dean tapped him with his foot.

"Nothing." He shook his head lightly. "I was just thinking." He looked at Dean. "Do you think it was a good idea to leave Sam alone?"

Dean shrugged and took a bite of his sandwich. "Yeah, why not?"

"He just seems to be acting a little strange lately."

"He's the one getting his own room most times."

"I know, but…" Cas stared intently at his food.

"Hey," Dean reached out and touched his shoulder, "if he had an immediate problem, he would tell us."

"You always say that, but has he ever? When did he ever come to you when he had a problem? I'm just worried he that he's suffering worse than he lets on."

Dean squeezed his shoulder. "He'll be okay."

Cas nodded. He thought back to what Chuck had told him in his dream about how Sam would eventually be fine. "I know, but I can't help thinking about what that demon said when it was possessing me."

"Demons lie."

"They do, but he wasn't. I could feel it. He was telling the truth about Sam getting worse. I'm worried how bad it will really get."

Dean had been thinking the same thing, but he hadn't wanted to face it. "Just because he wasn't lying doesn't mean that it will happen. Sam is strong, stronger than we are." They shared a short look before Dean's phone rang. He took it out of his jacket, it was Sam. "Hey, what's up?"

"I think you need to get back, if you can. I found something."

Dean sighed. "What did I say about working, Sam?" Couldn't the guy relax for one night?

"I wasn't. It just showed up when I opened my browser. Trust me, you need to see it."

"Okay, we're on our way." Dean put his phone back and pulled out his money. "Sam found us something. Let's go." He dropped money for the bill on the table and the two of them headed out to the Impala.

They walked into Sam's room where he was researching on his laptop. He looked up when they came in. "Hey."

"So, what'd you find?" Dean slipped off his jacket and dropped it on the back of one of the chairs by the table.

"Do you remember back when we were looking for Lilith and we interrogated a lot of demons to find her?" Dean nodded. "There was one in particular in Idaho, do you remember?"

Dean thought back. They had run across lots of demons that year. "Uh…"

"It was about 4 years ago in," Sam looked at his screen, "Coeur d'Alene. There was a string of murders, women. The police thought it was a serial killer, but they could never find any DNA or fingerprints."

It clicked in Dean's mind. "Oh, yeah. He was possessing a young guy and a local woman helped us out with tracking him and stuff."

"Yeah, well it seems like the demon is back."

"What?" Dean moved to stand behind Sam. Cas followed behind. "But, I exorcised him."

Sam shrugged. "He got out." Sam had crime scene photos open on the computer. "We need to check this out, Dean. If it is the demon, we need to end this."

"Yeah, alright." He glanced at Cas. "Good thing you got that tattoo. This is one bad SOB. You wouldn't want to get possessed by him." He sighed and picked up his jacket. All he wanted was one night off. "Let's go." They packed up and left for Idaho.

With only one room open, the three of them bunked up for their case. It didn't matter, they would most likely not be in their room too much while they were there. They dropped their bags on the beds. Dean's phone rang. "Classified server? Gotta be Devero right?" Dean opened his phone. "Hello. Frank, thank God. What have you got for me?" Dean walked across the room with his phone.

Sam and Cas unpacked some of the information they had regarding the case. Sam seemed to hear something, but was trying to ignore it. Cas was about to ask him about it when he pressed his thumb into his left hand. He gave a short glance around the room and seemed to relax. Dean's voice stopped Cas from talking to Sam.

"What do you mean you can't find him? It's Dick Roman. Turn on CNN. Did you see him in that press conference in Phoenix? The bastard's everywhere." Dean paused and closed his eyes. Frank had a way with getting under Dean's skin. "You sure? No, I don't care that they've infiltrated the luxury boat industry." Dean glared forward. "Great, call Kanye." Dean hung up and rolled his eyes.

Sam looked at Dean. "Frank still stumped on Roman?"

"Yeah," he tossed his phone onto his bed. "Let's do this." He moved to stand by Sam and looked at the crime scene reports spread on the bed.

"Okay, so all of the victim profiles: age, hair color, body type, and the ritual mutilations line up exactly."

"Who down there would have let our demon out of the can? He squealed on his superiors, we made sure of that. He should be down under until trumpet day."

"Well, two women killed in two weeks, same parts missing, same old hunting grounds even."

"Alright, but you know it's all about the leviathans now. They're the ones we need to be hunting."

"Yeah," Sam shook his head, "but no, not right now. This one's ours, Dean. It's unfinished business apparently."

Dean nodded. There wasn't much they could do that first night. The previous murder had happened a week ago. They had nothing fresh to go off of. The three of them were sleeping when the police radio went off reporting a murder similar to the others. They grudgingly woke up and suited up.

At the crime scene, they all flashed their FBI badges. "You know," Dean looked at Sam and Cas, "everyday we do this I wonder if today's the day. We walk up and flash our tin to a bunch of chompers pretending to be policemen."

"I hear you." Sam took a drink of his coffee that he nearly spilled when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"I thought you guys would show up." The three of them turned to face the man who had spoken. He was a local police officer. "It's the drummer boys. Agents Bonham and Watts right?" He looked at Cas. "And I don't remember you?" He held out a hand to Cas.

"Agent Smith." Cas shook his hand with a small smile.

"Smith, nice to meet you."

"It's nice to see you again, detective." Sam looked a little distracted as he spoke. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Oh, no problemo. Detective Sutton."

"Sutton, right."

"Right, how could we forget?" Dean smiled a little too wide.

"Sad to say the case looks to be open again."

"You sure?"

Sutton walked closer to the back of a van where the murder occurred. Glass and blood was everywhere. "Same tools, same cuts, same crazy. Makes sense, we didn't catch the critter last time did we?"

"Do you have any suspects?" Cas crouched to look at the body beside Sutton.

"No, it's the same as last time: very thorough, cold blooded."

Dean nodded to the man. "Thank you, detective."

"No problem." Sutton walked off as Dean moved around the van to Sam. Cas stood and followed.

"Hey," Sam pointed to the open back of the van. There was a yellow substance mixed with the glass shards. Sam picked some up and sniffed it. "Sulfur."

"Dammit. We should check on Havelock."

Nora Havelock was a local woman with a lot of knowledge of the supernatural. She had helped them a lot the last time they were here. The demon had also threatened to "scoop her out like a pumpkin" last time.

She had an office in town that they currently pulled up to. She let them in. Sam looked at the banner she had in the office. "Wiccan's Web dot com?"

"Internet mail order. White magic only." She walked through her entryway and into her back room. "Herbs, talismans." The boys followed her. When she opened the doors to her back office, a large devil's trap on the floor blocked the doorway.

Sam looked at the red sigil. "You sure about that?"

"Careful, it's still drying." At their looks, she explained. "I have a friend at the Sheriff's office. I know about all the new murders. I'm doing what I can to protect myself." She walked through the room to her desk. "I'm also translating some very old banishments." She handed one of the written pages to Sam.

He looked them over before raising his brows. "Wow, these are good."

"Thanks, I've got an affinity. But, back then in that farm house I was in over my head I know that, believe me I will leave all that to the pros."

"You helped track him down." Dean didn't want to think how many more woman could have died if she hadn't been there to make it easier. "You did some solid leg work."

"But when it came down to it, I just knew somebody who knew somebody who had the right number to call. And your number is not working by the way."

"Yeah," Sam handed the paper back to her, "we've had some technical difficulties, phone issues."

"More of a monster problem really." Sam shot Dean a disapproving look.

"So, uh," Sam looked back to Nora, "you haven't had any contact?"

"With the demon? No, thank God. I have one or two things to finish in town and then I'm leaving."

"Good choice."

"Have you found Jeffrey yet?"

Dean tilted his head. "Who?"

"The man who the demon possessed. The one you almost beat to death."

"Yeah, Jeffrey." He looked at Sam. "That poor bastard."

"Some demons tend to be sentimental don't they? Tending to go back to the same host if they can?"

Sam shrugged and looked at Dean. "It's a start."

They left with thanks to Nora. Cas was sitting in the back seat with a strange expression. Dean looked at him. "You okay, Cas?"

"Yeah," he furrowed his eyebrows, "there's just something about Nora."

"What?"

Cas shook his head. "Nothing."

"Okay, let's go find Jeffrey."

It took them a little while, but they finally found him. He was picking up a dog at the animal shelter. As he was walking the small white dog, he wondered into the ally by the shop where the three of them were waiting. They couldn't be sure if he was possessed already or not. When he got close enough, they jumped out. Dean had the knife at his throat, Sam threw holy water on his face, and Cas had the Colt pointed at his forehead.

Jeffrey's wide-eyed terror and non-reaction to the water let them know he was not possessed. "Jeffrey?" The scared man was shaking in Dean's hold. They all lowered their weapons and stepped away from him. "It's okay. You're okay."

"Sorry," Dean put the knife away, "we just had to make sure."

"Make sure of what? That I peed my pants today?" Jeffrey's dog started whining. He crouched down to pet him. "Oh, you scared my dog."

"We did not want to do that." Sam put the holy water back in his jacket.

"Listen Jeff, we gotta talk."

Jeffrey led them back to his apartment. Dean looked around the small room. "Well, this is…"

"I know what it is." Jeffrey sat on his couch, petting his dog who was on the floor by his feet.

Sam pulled up a chair across from him and Cas sat beside Dean on the opposite side of the couch. "Look, I know it must have been hard." Sam looked distracted like earlier and only Cas seemed to notice the way he pressed into his left hand again.

"What do you guys want from me?"

"We're pretty sure the demon that possessed you is back." Dean said it carefully, not wanting to upset Jeffrey too much.

"What? What do you mean?" He looked between the two brothers. "You exorcised him. Right?" He started breathing heavily and stood up. "He's supposed to be in Hell." His voice was getting panicked.

Sam stood up. "Jeffrey, please just calm down. Have a seat, please."

Jeffrey sat slowly. "I don't understand."

"Three more women have been murdered over the past two weeks." Jeffrey was shaking his head. "Same vic profiles, same forensics, crime scene was dusted with sulfur. We've got to assume it's him."

"But we're here now." Sam turned sympathetic eyes to Jeffrey. "So if he comes after you, we'll nail him. Just like we did last time."

"What was her name?"

"What?"

"The last one he killed."

"Anna Paxton." Cas watched the man warily. He could tell he wasn't too stable.

"Margery Willis, she's the next one on the list."

"What list?"

"The demon used to recite it all the time." Jeffrey looked at Cas. "Like a grocery list. He burned it in my head. The names of all the victims he was gonna kill."

Sam leaned forward. "He already had his victims chosen?"

"And put in a line, in an order."

"Why?" Jeffrey looked at Dean. "Demons aren't usually into the obsessive serial killing type, just all around evil." He looked at Sam. "Why would he do this?"

"He said it was his job." A light knock sounded on Jeffrey's door. He stood up slowly and walked to his door. His councilor was standing outside.

"Jeffrey, did your guests sign in?"

"I'm really sorry, Alan. They're friends of mine from my days back at the post office. I didn't know they were coming."

"Okay, just get them to sign in when they sign out."

Jeffrey nodded as Alan walked off with a smile. He came back to the living room. They all stood up. "Jeffrey, Cas and I are gonna go keep an eye on Margery Willis."

"I'll stay here." Dean smiled at Jeffrey. "Just in case." Jeffrey let out a relieved sigh.

Sam and Cas headed to the library where Margery worked while Dean stayed with Jeffrey. They figured if Margery was attacked, two of them would be a smarter defense. Sam whispered to Cas, "I see her." He pointed to a blonde woman pushed a book cart through the shelves. "Come on." He led Cas to one of the tables in eye range of where Margery stopped and sat. "Why don't you go over there," he pointed to the opposite side of her desk, "I'll sit here. That way we can keep a full view on her and anyone suspicious."

Cas nodded and moved quietly to the opposite side of the library. Sam pulled out a seat where he was. They watched Margery for a little while. They were both looking through some of the reports from the murders, trying to find something different or something they missed last time.

Cas's eyes followed Margery as she moved across the library and he saw Sam looking around at the nearby tables with fear in his eyes. He then closed his eyes and held his hands together. Cas thought about going to check on him when Sam relaxed. He then seemed to notice something. Sam caught his eye and gestured to look. Cas saw a man following after Margery. Cas nodded and they both moved to check on her.

They walked around the shelves from opposite sides. They heard a woman gasping and sped up their steps. They looked around the shelf and stopped short when they saw Margery and the man making out against the shelf. Sam looked at Cas with a frown and they backed away quietly to let the couple have their moment.

When the couple finally emerged from the shelves, Sam and Cas were sitting together looking through the coroner reports. Sam had already tried to call Dean twice, but he tried again anyway. "Dean, where are you? We're scoping out zero here."

"You still can't get a hold of him?"

"No." Sam flipped through the reports he had looked through three times already. There had to be something he was missing.

Cas looked through his reports, not knowing exactly what to look for. He didn't know what could be different this time around since he wasn't here last time. He glanced up at Sam who seemed to be glaring at something to his right. Cas turned to look around but saw nothing unusual. When he looked back, Sam seemed to have noticed something.

"Cas, I think I found something." He pushed the papers across the desk for him to look at. "According to this, the victims had traces of tranquilizers in their systems. Why would a demon need to knock out their victims?"

"You think it's not a demon?" He read down the test results. "What about the sulfur and the mutilations?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know. But, this," he pointed to the paper, "doesn't make sense for a demon." Sam took his phone out again and tried the last number he had for Dean. He still didn't answer. "We need to find Dean." Sam gathered his papers. Cas nodded and stood up, taking one of the files with him. "Shut up!"

Cas stopped and looked back at Sam, who just walked by him like he hadn't just yelled at him. "I didn't even say anything." He said it more to himself than to Sam. He was worried about not being able to find Dean, but Sam was acting more strange by the minute.

They went back to Jeffrey's apartment and had to break in, proving they obviously weren't there. Sam silently searched through Jeffrey's desk while Cas upturned cushions and searched everywhere else for some sign of what happened to them.

Sam found a cell phone scrambler in the desk, but nothing else that caused suspicion. He moved to the dresser. He pulled out the top drawer and found a hidden case under it. Pages of written spells filled the metal box. Sam handed them to Cas.

Cas read the Latin quickly. "A demon summoning?" Sam nodded. "Why would Jeffrey want to summon a demon?"

"I don't know." Sam seemed distracted again, like he was trying to ignore an annoying child. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wait, let me see it again." Sam held a hand out. Cas gave him the paper. "I know this handwriting."

"What?"

"Nora." He held the page up. Cas saw the similarities now.

"Why would she do that?"

"I don't know." Sam folded the spell up and headed to the door. "But I'm gonna find out." Cas followed Sam to the car and off to Nora's.

* * *

Dean woke up in a haze. He didn't remember what had exactly happened. He remembered bringing Jeffrey to an abandoned warehouse outside of town. Jeffrey had said it was a place the demon brought him and would hide out while possessing him. He was tied to a chair beside a young guy who was also tied up and bloody. He vaguely recalled trying to free him when he was hit from behind with a needle.

"Jeffrey?" Dean saw the man feeding his small dog off to his left.

Jeffrey stood up. "Good, you're up."

"What happened? What's going on?" Dean shook his head, trying to clear the fuzz. Jeffrey was walking to an alter set up in front of him.

"No one asked you to get involved. To save me, save anyone."

"What?"

"Did you ever think, that maybe I loved being possessed? Did you? The connection, the power. And I loved him. The love of my life actually."

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Dean dropped his head. So, Jeffrey was the one he should have been afraid of.

"He liberated me." Jeffrey was pouring gasoline in the bowl on the alter. "Started me on my true life mission."

"So you were the one with the thing for all those women aren't you, Jeffrey? You're a serial killer."

"I was nothing before he found me, a shadow." He struck up a match. "Too scared to do what I was brought here to do. Too timid to live up to my true potential." He dropped the match, lighting up the fire in a burst of yellow.

"So what happened? Red headed mommy make you stuff birds and put on dresses?"

"You shouldn't trivialize other people's pain."

"So a demon comes along, rides copilot in your skull, and teaches you how to kill." He looks at Jeffrey in disbelief. "The list. That's yours?"

"For years. It was just a game I would play. Every time I would walk by one of them in the street or drive by them on my route, there was a sound that came from their brain. Only I could hear it." He took a few steps closer to Dean. "Like an evil little steam whistle. Every time I saw one, I would follow her, take down her address." He moved back over to the alter and picked up the knife he had taken from Dean. "But I was never gonna do anything. Not until he came along." He moved closer to Dean. "He saved me and you sent him to Hell."

* * *

Sam picked the lock to Nora's office and entered with his gun drawn, Cas right behind. After taking a few steps into her back office, Nora jumped from the corner and hit Sam with a candle holder. Cas grabbed her arms and pinned them to her back. Sam stood up, rubbing the back of his head. She head butted Cas, knocking him back with sharp pain shooting up his nose.

"Nora, stop it!" Sam grabbed the weapon she was using and tossed it to the floor. "Calm down!" Nora stumbled back a few steps, fear in her eyes. "Cas, you okay?"

Cas rubbed his sore nose. "I'm fine." Nothing was broken or bleeding.

"What is this?" Sam opened the summoning for Nora to look at. "Why did Jeffrey have a demon summoning in your handwriting?"

"It's happening the way he said, the way he planned it."

"What plan?"

"You can't help. You can't change it." She sat down on the couch behind her.

"Nora, tell me what is going on." Sam glanced behind him briefly and turned back with anger flaring in his eyes. He squatted and leaned into Nora's space. "Nora," his voice was loud and angry. Cas was starting to get nervous. "Whatever it is, you should be a lot more scared of me right now, because I am two inches away from you and I can make you talk. You understand me?"

Cas understood Sam's anger, but he hadn't seen him seethe so much in a while. Nora started crying. "It's my son. He has my son." She covered her face with her hands.

Sam sat back. "What were you thinking? Why would you help summon a demon in the first place?"

"Not the demon," she looked at Cas, "Jeffrey."

"Jeffrey has your son?" Cas looked at Sam, who stood up.

"Yes." She took a shaky breath. "I kept tabs on Jeffrey after the exorcism. I even sent him care packages in the hospital, but he never responded. Then not long ago, he came to me. He seemed healthy, put together. He wanted to know if there was a way to summon the demon back. He said he was doing some research, most of it was nonsense but he was convinced it was possible." She sniffed. "I sent him away. I told him to get some more help. The next day he called me and put my son on the phone. He had taken him from his dorm room."

Nora stood up and walked back to her desk. "I gave him everything. The rituals, the sigils, but he kept my boy. Then he sent me this." She took out a small metal box and handed it to Sam. He opened it to reveal an ear. "It's my baby's ear. He cut it off because the ritual didn't work."

Sam sighed. "That demon gave up some serious state secrets. He would have been under deep lockdown in Hell. Very hard to bring him back up."

"Jeffrey didn't care. He told me to find out what went wrong and fix it or else. So finally I found a summoning spell that would work for sure." She opened an old book that was on her desk and let Sam and Cas see it. "And that's when he told me I had another job to do."

"Which was what?" Sam handed to book to Cas. Cas read it over quickly. He knew what she would say before it came out.

"When you came I was supposed to send you to Jeffrey. He left a trail of bodies to make sure of it."

Cas read out of the book. "To perform the summoning, you need the blood of the exorcist who banished him." He look accusingly at Nora.

"The strongest summoning I've ever seen." She looked at Sam. "He needed your brother. It's all going according to Jeffrey's plan."

"Yeah, well," Sam took the book from Cas and dropped it in front of Nora, "new plan. Tracking spell, using the flesh of the body," he slammed the box with the ear back on the desk, "to find the body and Dean." Nora shook her head. "Do you want the ear or the kid?"

Tears fell down Nora's cheeks. "Okay."

It didn't take long for Nora to find their location. Sam and Cas rushed to save Dean.

* * *

Dean grimaced as Jeffrey sliced into his arm, dripping blood into a small bowl on the ground. "I'd like to think I know you pretty well."

"Yeah, how do you figure?"

"I watched you torture an innocent man to get out a demon." Jeffrey picked up the bowl of blood and looked up at Dean. "Pretty charged situation, revealing. You guys talked about a lot, showed a lot of character." Jeffrey sighed fondly. "God, you were so desperate to save the world back then." He stood up slowly. "It kills you that people keep getting hurt and you just can't stop it." He walked back to the alter and set the bowl down. "Or I should say it's killed you shouldn't I?"

Dean ignored the clench in his chest. "You know what, screw you."

"Hey, I was there." Jeffrey picked up the knife and started mixing his ingredients. "I was depressed, Dean, because he was gone. I was a wreck, an emotional shell, drunk," he looked at Dean, "I was suicidal."

"I don't usually endorse suicide, but what stopped you?"

"It was Alan at the house."

"You're kidding me."

"He's a really good rehab therapist. He really helped me focus on my goals, my attitudes. I have to say, I really benefitted from the whole program." He walked around the alter while cleaning the knife. "A life well lived comes from the structural pursuit of meaningful happiness. I realized," he stepped towards Dean, "I was nothing without my demon. Then I decided I have to get him back." He let out a breath and straightened his shoulders. "I'll be right back."

Dean watched Jeffrey walk back in the direction of the door. Jeffrey looked down at his dog laying on the ground. "Come on, honey." He called the dog with a gentle voice. He looked over his shoulder at Dean. "It's a bitch of a recipe I must admit." The small dog jumped up and followed it's master.

"No." Dean really hoped what he thought was going to happen would not actually happen. He heard the dog whine. "Oh, you sick son of a bitch." The dog cried out sharply before the room fell quiet.

Jeffrey came back in and dropped the bowl with the dog's heart into the fire. Dean pulled uselessly at his binds. Jeffrey dumped Dean's blood into the mix and started a Latin incantation. The room started shaking as he spoke. Pieces of the ceiling crumbled and fell and a low rumble sounded throughout the large room.

When the incantation was complete, the fire shot up before quickly dying out and all the sound stopped. Jeffrey seemed surprised by the lack of reaction. Dean thought for one hope filled second that the summoning hadn't worked.

The boy beside Dean then jerked awake and snapped through his chains like he was tearing paper. He looked up with black eyes and peeled the duct tape off his mouth. "Hello, Jeffrey." The demon stood from his chair and stepped in front of Dean. "Dean Winchester, as I live and breath."

His black eyes faded and he turned to look at his summoner. He opened his arms and walked into a worried looking Jeffrey. The demon embraced him passionately. Dean raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing?" Jeffrey was confused.

"I'm thanking you, Jeffrey." The demon held Jeffrey close and started waltzing around the room.

"What are you doing with this half dead piece of crap?" Jeffrey tried to keep up with the dancing demon. Dean was watching them with a look of shock. This was a new one for him. "Come into me."

"We had a very special time together didn't we, Jeffrey? It warms my heart to see that you haven't forgotten what I taught you. You built on it." The demon stopped dancing and took a small step away from Jeffrey. He ran his hands up his jacket affectionately. "You captured a Winchester." Jeffrey smiled proudly. "You, Jeffrey. My pupil."

"I don't want to be your pupil. I want to be yours."

"I'm done with you." He stepped away from Jeffrey. "Our work is finished. You can do everything, Jeffrey, all on your beautiful own."

"No."

"No?" The demon knocked Jeffrey to the ground with a hand. He knelt beside him. "We don't do no, remember?"

Dean used the chance to try and get loose from his ties. The demon looked back and stood up. "Keep sawing away at your ties, Penelope Pitstop." He opened his arms. "We can dance standing up if you want to."

"So is this what you do? Find postal workers and make them go postal?"

"A talent scout, that's all. Looking for the next generation of superstars before they get to Hell." He reached down to a groaning Jeffrey. "Like Jeffrey here. He had all the raw materials just bubbling in there. All I had to do was loosen the lid on his jar. Show him a little practical knowhow."

"What about the kid?"

"This one?" He looked down at his body. "I don't think, not much to work with. No natural gift. I'll probably burn my way through him on my way to Vegas." The demon turned just in time to see an angry Sam coming at him with an iron pipe.

His blow didn't land and the demon punched him a few times before tossing him across the room into the opposite wall. Dean used the distraction to work on his ties. He almost had them off when Cas ran up behind him and cut him loose. He hauled Dean up and ran to help Sam.

Sam was crawling on the floor, feeling his head spinning from the recent blows from the demon and Nora earlier. The demon advanced on him but found himself stuck. He looked up to see a devil's trap painted on the ceiling. "You've got to be kidding me."

Dean and Cas walked around the trapped demon and stood by Sam. "Let the boy go." Sam had promised to get Nora's son back to her safely.

In the excitement, they had forgotten about Jeffrey. Who was now advancing on the demon with Ruby's knife in hand. Dean pulled the gun from Cas's jeans and shot the man three times. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Cas started his Enochian exorcism. "I'll be back you know." The demon spoke through gritted teeth. "Back in black."

"Go to Hell." Dean was disgusted with the demon's reference to an AC/DC song.

When the exorcism ended, the demon left in a cloud of black smoke. Nora's son collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. Sam moved to make sure he was okay.

"What happened?" The boy looked around in confusion.

"Don't worry. I'm taking you back to your mom. It's over." Sam helped the boy stand.

Dean and Cas drove back to the motel while Sam took Nora's son home. Dean groaned loudly and flopped onto the bed in exhaustion. "Are you okay?" Cas sat on the edge of the bed. He got a grumbled affirmative. "Good. You had me worried." Dean just hummed. "Sam had me worried too. Dean," Cas nudged his hip, "something is really going on with him."

"There's always something going on, Cas." Dean rubbed his eyes. He really wanted to sleep.

"I think Lucifer is getting more control over him."

"Talk to him about it then. I can't do anything about it right now." Cas sighed at Dean and stood from the bed. He was in the bathroom when Sam got back.

"So, Jeffrey was just pretending to be the victim back then. He was just acting." Sam sat on his bed.

"He's a psychopath, Sam. That's what they do all the time is act. Act like they're fine, like they're not balls to the wall crazy."

Sam nodded. He looked at his brother's back. "You going to sleep?" He really wanted to talk to him. The past day had been hard on him, but he didn't want to bother Dean.

"Damn straight. Screw consciousness, that's what I say."

Cas stepped out of the bathroom in time to see Sam jerk on his bed like he had been slapped. He was pressing into the scar on his hand while staring blankly ahead. Dean was asleep on his bed. "Sam?" He didn't react. "SAM?" Cas moved closer to him.

Sam dropped his hands and looked around him in terror. "Sam, what is it?" Cas put a hand on his shoulder. Sam was trembling and making small noises in the back of his throat. Cas looked into his eyes and saw nothing but fear. He seemed to be trapped.

"Dean!" Cas smacked Dean, wanting to wake the man.

"What?" Dean turned in irritation. All of that faded when he saw what Sam looked like. "Sam." He slid off his bed and knelt in front of his brother. "Sammy." Dean cupped Sam's face. "Sammy!"

Sam seemed to snap out of it suddenly. He looked at Dean and reached out to hold his shirt. "Dean?"

"Sammy, you okay?" Dean hadn't realized it was this bad. He looked at Cas, who was standing beside him with a worried look. He had tried to tell him, but Dean hadn't listened. Sam covered his face. "What happened?" Dean moved to sit on his bed.

Sam shook his head. "Nothing."

"Don't lie, Sam. There's obviously a problem."

"You can't fix it, Dean." Sam dropped his hands and looked at both of them. "I acknowledged his presence today. Something I haven't done in a long time and he's getting stronger because of it." He shook his head again and stood up. "I can handle it. I just need some sleep."

"Really?"

"I've told you, Dean. I know I'm not okay, but I can manage it."

"If you say so." Dean let his brother get away that easy tonight, but he was definitely going to pay more attention to him from now on. Cas had been right and Dean had shrugged him off. He finally felt like he had most of Cas's trust back again and he would not lose his brother now.


	16. Chapter 16

The three of them stayed in the motel room in Idaho for another day. Dean wanted to make sure Sam was well enough to travel safely before they took off. Sam tried to sleep but was woken up frequently by Lucifer's taunts and screams. He decided to coffee up and not sleep and see if that helped any.

While they packed to switch states, Cas pulled Dean outside. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, what's up?" Dean pulled his jacket closed against the cold winter air.

"It's about Sam."

"What about him?"

Cas sighed, his breath came out in a cloud. "We need to help him."

"We are helping him, Cas."

"I know, but I think he needs real help. The kind of help we can't give him."

Dean thought he knew where Cas was going with this. He shook his head. "No, I can't do that to him."

"Dean…"

"No, I am not sending Sam to a mental hospital." He raised his voice and turned away from Cas. "What is he even supposed to tell them? That after spending about a century in Hell with Lucifer he decided to just come back with him?" He turned back to Cas with a wave of his arm. "They're gonna think he's crazier than he really is."

"He won't sound any worse than most of the people there. You've both been in one of those places before right?"

"Yeah, for a job. If he goes there, they'll just pump him full of drugs and make him a drooling mess just like they did then." It might have been amusing in hindsight, but seeing his brother spaced out on drugs for longer than an hour was not something Dean ever wanted to witness or be responsible for.

"You don't know that, Dean."

"Yes I do!"

Cas looked down for a moment and took a slow breath. He really didn't want to fight, but he knew how stubborn Dean was. "Look, we all know that the Lucifer terrorizing Sam is not the real Lucifer. He has a mental problem right now and maybe he needs to have real help if he wants to survive or keep his sanity. He can't not sleep forever."

Dean agreed, but he was not letting Sam too far out of his sight. That meant any hospital. "I will not chuck him into some loony bin."

Cas nodded, he knew this talk was over. "That's your decision to make." Dean nodded and started to move past him. Cas took hold of Dean's arm and pulled him closer. "For now. But there may come a time when that choice will be taken from you, and you might regret how Sam is taken away when you can't walk him in yourself."

Dean glared at Cas, but he knew it was true. "That's the only way they'll get him from me." He pulled his arm free of Cas gently before heading back into the room where Sam was packing.

The three of them left for Oregon twenty minutes later. It started snowing during the drive. By the time Dean pulled into a motel in Oregon, the ground was covered in a few inches of snow. They made their way to the room, careful not to slip on the ice. Cas had already nearly face planted once.

Dean had been quiet the whole way. His conversation with Cas had brought up some things he didn't want to think about. He was thinking about this as he pulled his duffle bag out of the trunk when he saw something out of the corner of his eye just a second too late. A perfectly targeted snowball hit him right in the face as he turned to face the flying projectile.

Dean's mouth opened in shock as the cold snow melted into his ear and down his cheeks. Sam's laugh rang out in the parking lot as Dean wiped the water away. "Oh it's on, bitch." Dean dropped his duffle bag and crouched to gather snow into his hand. He saw Sam doing the same. He was pelted with another ball before he stood and got his brother with one. Cas was standing in the door way and shaking his head at the brothers. Dean hit him with one for good measure.

It was really on then. Cas joined Sam in the attack on Dean. Soon, the three of them were laughing and covered in melting snow. Dean was taking cover behind the Impala as Sam and Cas kept the snowballs coming. When they suddenly stopped, Dean peeked over the trunk of his car. He didn't see either one of them. A soft crunching behind him made him flip in time to see both men trying to sneak up on him.

"Get him!" Sam nailed Dean with another snowball as Dean tried to cover his face. Cas ran forward and tackled Dean into the snow.

Cas pinned Dean's arms up by his 'head. "Surrender."

Dean laughed. "This isn't fair!"

Cas shook his head. "Sam." Sam hit Dean again with a laugh. Dean shook the snow off his face. "Surrender, Winchester!"

"Never." Dean pushed Cas off and flipped their positions. He quickly gathered snow into his hand and targeted his brother. He was a little too close to Cas to want to throw one at him, but he knew he wasn't going anywhere. He continued his assault on Sam.

Cas chuckled as Sam and Dean pelted each other. The ridiculousness of what they were doing didn't escape Cas as a car drove past them in the parking lot, the occupants staring at the three grown men having a snowball fight. Cas sent a spray of snow up at Dean while he was distracted with Sam.

He let out a surprised noise and pinned Cas's arms into the snow and concrete. Cas tried to pull his arms free but Dean pressed his body into Cas and kissed him.

"Surrender." Cas whispered as they kissed.

Dean laughed. "You're in no position to say that now, Cas." He pressed into Cas's wrists for emphasis.

"Oh really?" Cas rolled his hips up against Dean, making the man groan and close his eyes.

Sam cleared his throat, "Well, I guess I'll just," he rubbed the back of his neck, "go dry off and change." He turned away from the couple and hurried to their room with slightly red cheeks.

Dean had watched his brother leave with a smile before turning back to meet Cas's stare. He was about to say something when Cas suddenly pushed and rolled them back to their first position. Cas straddled Dean and held his wrists above his head. He leaned in close and brushed his lips over Dean's. "Surrender to me."

Dean shivered, partially due to the snow soaking through his clothes, but more from the sound of Cas's voice and the way he was now running his teeth lightly over his jaw. He let his head fall back to allow Cas to get at his neck better. "Only for you, Cas."

"Good boy." Cas kissed him lightly and then sat up, releasing Dean's arms. Dean didn't move but smiled up at his husband. Cas smiled back and tilted his head. "What?"

"Nothing." Dean's eyes sparkled with happiness. "It's just…times like this with Sam," he looked at the door to their room briefly, "it almost makes me forget about what going on with him, you know? I see my Sammy again. I see the kid who would glue my hand to a beer bottle when we were out." He laughed at the memory. "Then of course, I remember…" He felt tears form in his eyes. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

Cas ran a hand through Dean's hair comfortingly. "Maybe we just need to keep making moments like this happen," Dean looked at him, "for all of us."

Dean nodded. He shivered violently suddenly from the freezing cold that was making his back numb from the snow he was laying in. "Cas, I think we should go inside, or at least get up."

With a nod, Cas stood up and helped Dean up from the ground. They walked into the motel room. Sam was still changing in the bathroom. Dean walked by Cas, having picked up his duffle bag outside, and set it on the bed by the door. He shook the snow out of his hair. Cas wiped the rest of the snow off his back and legs. As he reached the back of Dean's pants, he made sure to land a sharp smack on his butt.

Dean jumped. "Whoa, Cas!" Dean laughed and grabbed Cas's shirt, pulling him close. "You better be careful."

"Why?" He let himself be pulled in by Dean. "What are you gonna do?" Cas pushed Dean back until they hit the door.

His hands slid down to cup Cas's ass. With a squeeze, Dean pressed the other man into him and getting a groan from his husband. He leaned in until their lips were almost touching. "I'm gonna fuck you into the mattress so hard that you can't sit for a week."

Cas's smile and huff of laughter told of how Cas wanted to challenge that statement. "Yeah?" He kissed along Dean's jaw before whispering hotly into his ear. "Well come on, big boy. Show me what you've got."

Arousal shot through Dean like a white hot poker. He crushed their lips together in a rough, claiming kiss as one arm held his waist tight and the other tangled through his hair, holding Cas in place. Cas moaned against Dean's mouth and let Dean kiss him breathless. With another hard slap to Dean's backside, Cas found himself moving back with Dean's tongue exploring every part of his mouth. Dean broke their kiss and pushed Cas's shoulders hard enough to knock him back onto the bed behind him.

Cas landed with a huff. Dean followed him quickly and pushed down for another possessive kiss. Cas arched into Dean with a sigh, slipping his fingers through Dean's hair and tugged on the short locks. Dean growled into the kiss and nipped his bottom lip between his teeth. Cas brought his legs up and pressed his knees into Dean's hips. With a push of legs and hands, Cas rolled them over. He was now straddling Dean, their kiss unbroken.

Dean held Cas tight against him. His declaration of fucking Cas silly forgotten as Cas's grip lightened and turned more adoring. Fingers trailed down Dean's cheeks when he finally broke away from their kiss. They continued down his chest, slipping under his shirt when he reached jeans. Cold fingers made Dean shiver. "Cas." He looked into the blue eyes hovering close to his face. He wanted to say a lot in that moment, but he couldn't make this voice cooperate so he pulled Cas down for another kiss.

This was the sight Sam found when he emerged from the bathroom in dry clothes. "Guys," Sam sighed loudly and turned away from the kissing couple, "come on." The smile in his voice was clear.

The couple chuckled and turned to look at Sam. "Sorry, Sam." Cas sat up, still straddling Dean.

"No, he's really not." Dean ran his hands up Cas's legs, looping his fingers in his belt loops. Cas smacked his chest.

Sam turned to face them. He was smiling. "I guess I can go get lunch or something, if you two want, you know, time." He was picking up his jacket and the keys before they could respond.

"Sammy," Dean waited for his brother to stop in the open doorway, "take the long way back huh?" Sam rolled his eyes and escaped before he saw something he would regret seeing. Dean laughed at his brother's reaction. His smile fell though when Cas started moving off of him. "Hey," he grabbed for Cas, "where you goin'?"

"We need to change, Dean. We're both wet from the snow." He slid off the bed and pulled off his top layer and slipped his shoes off.

Dean sighed and sat up. He did need to change though, so he stood up. When he had his shoes and shirt off, Cas grabbed him and pulled him into the bathroom. Dean was slammed up against the door before he could register the change of room. "Cas, what…?"

Cas pressed into Dean's back, pinning his arms between them. Warm lips pressed into the sensitive spot on the back of Dean's neck. Dean moaned and tapped his forehead against the door. Cas bit lightly at the spot Dean exposed for him. His grip on Dean's wrists tightened when he tried to pull free. Cas pulled Dean's head back to look at him. "You surrendered to me remember?" He licked along the shell of his ear. Dean's eyes closed and his body relaxed against Cas. "You're mine." He kissed his lips briefly before pushing him back up against the door. "Is that okay with you, Dean?"

He groaned. "God, yes." He really hoped Sam didn't get back too soon.

Sam entered the motel room with hesitance, sighing in relief when he saw his brother on the phone and Cas flipping through the channels on the TV. He waved at Dean before handing Cas his food and setting Dean's on the table by the door. He had picked up a newspaper on the way back and sat down to leaf through it.

"So, Dick's funding an archeological dig?" Dean had called Frank, hoping for some kind of leviathan lead. "Well, unless he's actually digging himself, I don't know what to do with that, Frank." Dean rolled his eyes as Frank when on about how far the reach of Dick was. He sat on the edge of the bed next to Cas. "We're in Oregon."

"No, I've got nothing in Oregon."

"Wisconsin, Frank!"

"What about it?"

Dean wiped a hand over his face in exasperation. "The coordinates, Frank. Bobby's coordinates!"

"Oh yeah, no I've got nothing, no activity."

"Well, work on it!"

"Hey, when did you become the boss of me? You don't like it, you can shove it."

"Alright, take it easy, Frank."

"Oh, and another thing…" He hung up abruptly, leaving Dean to stare at his phone in disbelief.

"He's a crazy son of a bitch." He stood up to drop his phone on the table by Sam. "You know, having a cranky total paranoid as your go to guy it's…I don't know what it is." Sam had a large coffee in his hand as Dean sat down. "What are you going for the Guinness Record on coffee consumption? That's like your sixth one since we left Idaho."

Sam shrugged. "Yeah well, every time I close my eyes Lucifer is yelling into my head. It's like I let him in once and I can't get rid of him." His eyes were already a little red. Dean knew he hadn't slept much at all the night before they left or the day before that.

"You know he's not actually…" Dean gestured toward his head. Cas turned off the TV and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, food in hand.

"No, yeah, I know. Try telling that to the volume control inside my brain.

"Did you try the hand thing?"

Sam hesitated for a second. "Yeah." Dean's face fell a little and shared a short look with Cas. "Anyway, as long as I'm awake," Sam handed the paper over to Dean, "check this out. It looks like she danced her own feet off." Cas moved to look at the paper over Dean's shoulder. "It might be our kind of thing."

"Dancers," Dean shook his head, "they are toe-shoes full of crazy."

"And you would know this how?"

"I saw Black Swan, twice." Sam made a face. "Hot tutu on tutu action. Come on, Sam, what's wrong with you?"

Sam laughed lightly. "Wow." He took a drink from his coffee. "Well, it's in Portland, just a few hours away."

Dean nodded and handed Cas the paper. "Dancers, why not?" He opened his bag of food sitting on the table. "Maybe you'll get some sleep on the way."

"Yeah, maybe."

They left when Dean and Cas finished lunch. The initial look around the crime scene revealed nothing supernatural. They headed to the police station to look at the ballet shoes the dancer had been wearing. After dealing with an irritating officer at the desk, the three of them were directed to the evidence lock up in the back. An officer was logging in the evidence when they got there. They flashed their badges.

"What can I do for you fellas?"

"We need to see the shoes the ballet dancer was wearing." Sam blinked the tired feeling away as he put his badge in his coat pocket.

"Didn't think that would be an FBI deal, but sure they're right here." The officer turned to pick up the shoes but stopped. The shoes weren't on the table and the officer sighed knowingly, "Dammit, Tracy."

"Who's Tracy?" Dean asked.

"My daughter. She loves ballet."

They looked at each other with wide eyes. Cas looked back to the officer. "Do you know where she is now?"

"She said she had to go to the bathroom."

The three of them busted into the women's room to find Tracy sitting on the floor, ballet slippers already on. She jumped at the sudden appearance of the men. "Hey," Sam pointed to her feet, "take those shoes off."

He barely got the sentence out before Tracy was lifted to her toes by an unseen force. Her shocked eyes looked at the men before she started spinning in place. She obviously wasn't in control anymore. They rushed forward to stop her before she lost her feet. Sam held her under her small arms and Cas held her hips still. Dean tried to get close to the thrashing feet of the small dancer.

"Dean, get the shoes." Sam fought to keep the girl still as the shoes tossed her around.

"I'm trying!" Dean was then kicked in the face by one of the pink shoes.

"Sorry!" Tracy was close to tears as the shoes threw her around in the two men's arms. Dean sat up and held her legs still as he grabbed the shoes.

"Come on, Dean!"

"Shut up, Sam!" Dean had taken one shoe off before he was kicked again by the still-shoed foot. Cas tried to help Dean hold her legs when he sat up again. With one final pull, Dean got the second shoe off. Sam and Cas fell back as Tracy stilled. "I got 'em." Dean was panting as he held the ballet shoes up in victory.

"I'm guessing we have a cursed object." Cas said as he released Tracy.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You think?"

Sam looked at Tracy's terrified face. "You okay?" She nodded slowly. They stood up and walked Tracy back to her dad. Sam was holding the slippers with a pair of pens, not wanting to touch the cursed shoes as they walked out to the car. "Okay, next stop," Sam read the sticker inside the shoes, "Out With The Old. Do you think it's too much to hope that these shoes are the only thing from there we need to worry about?"

Dean laughed. "What a dreamer you are."

Out With The Old was a small antiques shop in town. Dean parked across the street. "Uh, guys." Cas's voice from the back seat sounded shaken. The brothers turned to look at him. "These were not here a couple seconds ago." Cas was leaning away from the ballet shoes that were now suddenly on the seat beside him.

"We put those in the trunk." Dean's eyes were wide in fear.

"How did they..."

"Cursed object, Sam." Dean turned away from the slippers.

Sam furrowed his brows and looked back and forth between Dean's feet and the shoes. "Do they," he looked at Cas, "they look like they could be," he turned to Dean, "your size?"

"Shut up." Dean was refusing to look in the back seat again.

Sam faced him fully. "Wait, are you?"

"Getting a strong urge to Prince Siegfried myself into oblivion?" Dean swallowed. "Yes." Sam's eyes widened even more.

"Sorry," Cas leaned forward, "you want to what?"

Sam snapped out of looking at Dean. "He wants to put the shoes on, because he touched them."

"Shut up. Being cursed isn't a choice." Dean was trying hard not to look at the slippers but he could feel his eyes moving that way.

"Cas, maybe you should get out before you touch them by accident." Cas nodded and left the brothers in the car. "You really saw Black Swan?" Dean shrugged.

Sam had the shoes on the pens again as they crossed the street to the small shop that had sold them. They found one employee inside, who turned out to be the owner. "Where did you get these?" Sam held the shoes out to the man.

"Uh, my mother had them in that box." He pointed to the counter where a small wooden box was resting. Sam put the slippers on the counter beside him and went to look at the box. "I don't understand what's happening."

Cas moved to look at the box. It was a curse box made for items like the shoes. This man obviously didn't know what he had done. Cas looked over his shoulder and saw Dean sitting on the floor with the shoes in hand. "Dean!" He ran over and without thinking, grabbed the shoes before Dean could put them on.

Sam was close behind with the box. "Cas, here." Sam held the box open and Cas dropped them in. He then felt an urge to take them back out. Sam slammed the box shut before he could reach his hand in. Dean stood up, looking confused. "You two okay?" They nodded.

"Um, if it's not too much trouble, could you explain to me what's going on?" The owner was thoroughly lost to what theses strange men were doing in his shop.

They showed him their badges. "What's your name?"

"Scott Freeman."

"You said these were your mother's?" Sam pointed to the box. "Where'd she get them?"

Scott shrugged. "I don't know. I found them in the back."

Dean nodded. "I got it." He went to see what else Scott had sold.

"Where's your mother?"

"She uh," Scott shifted on his feet, "passed away last week."

Sam softened. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Where did your mother get these shoes?" Cas was looking at the box.

Scott shrugged. "Just some personal stuff she collected. I'm trying to get rid of it all."

"All? Is there more like this?" Sam didn't want to imagine what would happen if a store's worth of cursed objects were loose.

"Sam," Dean called as he walked back up front. He had two empty curse boxes in his hands.

"Scott, what was in those boxes?" It came out angrier than Sam meant, but he was tired and irritated.

"What the hell kind of FBI guys are you anyway?"

"The kind that are trying to fix the mess you started." Dean held up the boxes. "Now, where did your mom get these?"

"I don't know. I found them in her safe." He pointed back to where Dean had just come from.

"Did it occur to you that maybe they were locked in there for a reason?" Cas could see the warding symbols drawn all over the safe and boxes inside.

"No, I thought it was just a bunch of junk that she had collected over the years. I knew she was into some weird stuff but I didn't think…"

"Yeah, well think again," Dean cut the owner off, "because this_junk_ is killing people."

"What? How can that be?"

"Look, we need to know exactly what you sold out of that safe and the names and addresses of who you sold it to." Scott nodded to Sam and walked to the back to get his records.

The first item sold was a tea kettle to a local woman. They knocked on the woman's front door. When she didn't answer, they let themselves in and found the next crime scene. She was lying dead on the floor with blood on her chin and chest. The tea kettle was on the floor beside her.

Dean crouched beside the cursed kettle. "Give me something to pick it up with." Cas looked around the kitchen. He picked up a pair of yellow rubber gloves and handed them to Dean. "Thanks." He wrapped the gloves around the handle of the kettle and picked it up. Dean stood and turned to Sam. "You better call this in."

Sam nodded and pulled out his phone. "Hi, I'd like to report an accident."

They left with the kettle in tow. "Who's next on the list?"

Sam pulled the list of buyers out of his coat. "I got a gramophone sold to a Brenda Gluck, 413 River Street, and a vintage gentleman's magazine sold to Peter Yankit, 107 Johnson Lane."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, we should probably split up." Cas opened the trunk for Dean to drop the kettle into it's box. Dean put the gloves in his pocket. "Why don't you take the gramophone, Cas and I will get the magazine." Sam nodded and opened the passenger door. "I wonder how old porn kills you." Dean closed the trunk and walked to the driver door.

"Pretty sure you don't want to know." Sam closed the door and looked up the street. The house wasn't that far. "You guys take the car. I'll walk."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam waved as he started down the sidewalk.

Dean and Cas drove to find the old porn, hopefully before the guy attempts to "off" himself.

It had not been a pretty sight, and the two of them agreed to never think or talk about what they found at Peter's house. At least the guy was alive. Cas carried the box with the magazine back to the car as Dean called Sam.

"Hey, we got the porn. Just in time too."

"What was he doing?"

"Well, like you said, you don't want to know. Where you at?"

"I got the gramophone. I'm across town, I'll head your way."

Dean put the phone in his pocket. Cas had the trunk open and dropped the box in quickly, not wanting to hold it longer than necessary. They drove the boxes back to the shop and loaded them back in the safe. Scott was shaking his head in disbelief.

"So, my mom wasn't just some whack job? All this stuff is real?"

"Yes." Cas closed the safe and the two of them started for the door.

"Well now I really feel like crap."

Dean stopped and turned to Scott. "How come?"

"I kept pushing her to sell the store. She kept saying no and I kept pushing her, telling her how much money she would make."

"You think you changed her mind?"

Scott shook his head. "I don't know. This real estate lady kept coming around and then one day, just like that, mom says okay. Then she got in that accident," he shrugged, "she never got to enjoy the money."

Dean and Cas shared a short look. "How soon after?"

"The next day."

That seemed a little suspicious. Cas looked at Scott. "How did she die?"

"Car crash. You know, I keep thinking if I hadn't pushed her…" he shook his head and looked at his shoes.

Dean felt for the man. "Hey, little tip," Dean cleared his throat, "feeling guilty isn't gonna bring 'em back. The best you can do is live your life the way you think would make her proud, or at least not embarrass the crap out of her." Scott nodded and they turned again to leave. "Oh," Dean pointed to the safe, "you know the drill right? Don't touch anything in those boxes. Don't even go near the safe. We'll get it all boxed up and Uhaul it out of here."

Scott lifted his hands. "Believe me I got it."

They left the shop and walked into the cold night air. Sam hadn't caught up to them yet and Dean was getting nervous. He called him and set up a coffee place in town to meet. Dean and Cas walked to the small shop. On the way, Dean noticed a lot of signs on the store windows lining the street. Bicklebee Realty had seemed to buy almost everything on the street. He filed that away for later. He was more worried about Sam at the moment.

Cas and Dean were sitting at a small table by the window drinking some coffee. Dean had decided to look into the whole Bicklebee thing while they waited. When his nerves got the best of him, he called Sam. Why had he let Sam go off alone?

When Sam answered, he sounded exhausted. "Hey, what's up? I'm on my way."

Dean tried to ignore the strain in his brother's voice. "Yeah, I'm not sure we're leaving town just yet. It turns out that Momma Hoarder didn't just die and leave the store to Scott."

"She didn't?"

"No listen to this, for 40 years she fights to keep the place, then one day she wakes up and sells. The next day she drives her car off a cliff."

Sam was yawning as he talked. "So, what you think someone cut her breaks or something?"

"No, I think the world is full of hilarious coincidences." He replied sarcastically. "Oh and there's this new company, never even tasted real estate and now it's gobbled up a huge chunk of Main Street. Doesn't that seem weird to you?" There was silence on the other end. "Sam?" Cas looked up from his coffee. "Sam!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sam sounded like he hadn't been listening, "sounds good. Keep me posted."

"Sounds good?" He looked at Cas with furrowed brows. "Are you alright?"

"You know how they say that sleep deprivation is an enhanced interrogation technique?"

"Yeah."

"Trust me, it's torture."

Fear for Sam's safety crept into his chest. "Sam," he heard the other line go dead with a click. Dean closed his phone and dropped it on the table.

Cas looked concerned. "Everything okay?"

Dean shook his head. "No, Sam is still trying to beat Lucifer with the no sleeping thing. I just hope he's not gonna end up doing something stupid because of it." Dean cursed at the laptop as it blocked him from trying to look at the company contacts on the realty website.

"What is it?"

"This Bicklebee Realty website is just being a bitch. I'm gonna call Frank," he picked up his phone, "maybe he can help with this."

Frank answered on the second ring. "This better be good."

"Hey, I don't mean to double dip in your crazy sauce, no offense."

"None taken, fudge pop."

"I think I found something. There is this new company who is buying up a whole bunch of these mom and pop stores in Portland, but I hit a firewall when I tried to access it's site. Can you crack it?"

"Can a dog play poker?"

Dean stuttered. "Uh, I don't…"

"The answer is yes. What's the name?"

"Geothrive Inc."

"Give me a minute."

Dean waited and when he had drank through another cup of coffee, he picked the phone up again. "Frank, tell me you've got something."

"No, I'm calling with the Lakers-Celtics score."

"What?"

"Of course I have something! I figured out why you hit that firewall. You were trying to access the Geothrive internal site and the reason why you couldn't was, if you dig down deep it's all Dick."

"Well, that'd be helpful if you didn't say that about everything."

"Except I'm operating on hard fact now, wiseass."

"You're telling me that Geothrive is part of Roman Inc.?"

"Conglomerate within a subsidiary within a conglomerate. It's all tied together, Dean."

"Okay so leviathans are our Walmart mom and pops?"

"And Bingo was his nameo."

"So we have a field in Wisconsin and a bunch of shops in Portland? What are they up to?"

"Beats me. All I know is that it's as corporate and smelly as the day is long. If I were you, I'd get out of Dodge pronto."

"People are dying here, Frank."

"Sure, every second. Check the obesity stats, that town ain't nothing special."

Cas caught sight of Sam pulling up in a pickup truck. He stood to go meet him. Dean let out an internal sigh of relief. "Well, we're not done here, and hey we might get some answers."

"Fine, call me if you don't die."

Sam and Cas sat down at the table as Dean hung up the phone. "So, Cas says we have a leviathan problem?" Sam rubbed his tired eyes.

"Yeah, they're buying up a lot of the property in town and it all comes back to Dick." Sam had yawned and was staring blankly out the window. "Hey, you hearin' me?"

Sam snapped back in focus and leaned on the table. "Yeah, yeah, sorry." He rubbed the palm of his hands over his face.

Dean looked at Cas and shook his head. "You know what," he closed the laptop in front of him, "enough of the insomnia crap. You need to crash. Cas and I can handle this for now, you go find a place to sleep."

Sam shook his head, defeat on his face. "It doesn't matter what I do, Dean. Lucifer will not shut up."

Dean looked on either side of Sam like now suddenly he would be able to see him. "Even now?"

"He's singing Stairway To Heaven right now."

"Good song."

"Not 50 times in a row." Sam's phone went off in his pocket. "Hey, Scott."

"Please, Sam, you gotta help me!"

"Whoa, what's happening?"

"I looked at one of my mom's old mirrors and now I want to rip my face off! I think it was cursed."

"Alright, hold tight. We're on our way."

"Let me guess, he looked at something he was not supposed to."

"Of course he did." They left the café and headed back to the antiques shop to save the owner.

Sam had taken the truck with the Uhaul attached to the back. Dean and Cas followed in the Impala. When they pulled up to the shop, they could see Scott duct taped to a chair while two people stood nearby. Dean recognized the woman as the face of Bicklebee Realty.

They ran through the door to meet the leviathans. The woman smiled at them. "Sam and Dean, and of course their little fallen angel." She walked towards them. "It is such a pleasure to finally meet you." She looked them all up and down, a dangerous look in her eye. "Now so you can put names to the faces that will be eating you, I'm Joyce." He gestured to the other. "This is my assistant, George."

"You're the lady from the Realty signs."

"Oh, did you like my photo?" She laughed and posed for Dean.

He shrugged. "You might want to lay off the whitening strips."

She laughed again. "Oh Dean, I'm gonna enjoy picking you out of my teeth." She flashed her true face before lunging at Dean, knocking Cas over in the process. George took on Sam. Dean crashed into a glass cabinet while Sam toppled over the front desk. Cas picked himself up and grabbed Joyce from behind. She latched onto his arm and flipped him to the floor roughly.

Dean picked up an urn and hit Joyce in the face with it. She punched him and threw him into one of the small tables, breaking it. Cas saw Sam shoving George's face into what must have been some kind of Borax, as his face sizzled and he screamed. Joyce kicked Cas as he tried to get up and then tossed Dean through the doorway to the back of the store.

"The sword!" For reasons Sam didn't understand, George seemed to want to help them.

Sam looked at Cas and pointed across the room to where a long sword was hanging on the wall. "Get the sword, Cas. Save Dean." Sam held to George, not fully trusting the monster.

Cas scrambled up and took the sword off the wall. He saw Joyce getting closer to Dean as he was groaning on the floor. He ran up behind her and slashed through the air, decapitating the woman. The body fell to the floor and Dean relaxed. "Thanks." Cas nodded to him before going back to Sam and George.

"You got him?" Sam stepped away as Cas trained his eye on the leviathan.

"I got him." George swallowed visibly.

Sam freed Scott and Dean found a bag to put Joyce's head in. Cas didn't move or look away from George. Dean shoved the monster's head into the bag and closed it in the safe. They had told Scott that he would need to leave if he wanted to stay alive.

"Look, I get that these things mean business, but I can't just uproot my life."

"Sure you can. It's not as hard as you think." Dean left Scott by the safe to check on Sam.

Sam looked at George briefly before turning to Scott. "These big-mouths don't like leaving loose ends."

"So you don't look back until you get someplace where you don't speak the language." Dean finished for him.

Scott's shoulders slumped slightly and he nodded. "Alright, I'm going." He took a couple steps towards the door. "Thank you, I guess."

"Don't mention it." Sam called after Scott as he left. He then turned back to George. "One minute. That's how long you've got to explain to us why you helped us."

George kept an eye on the sword Cas had pointed at him as he talked. "Because, I am dying to know what that bitch tastes like."

"Wait let me get this straight, you want to eat your boss?" Dean thought he had these wackos figured out, but he was wrong.

"You got a better way to make her stay dead?"

"What, so now you're on our side or something?" Sam doubted it. He didn't trust any of these monsters.

"Yeah, no." George laughed. "But, if Joyce is alive then I spend the rest of my life cleaning her messes. Or worse, I get eaten or bibed." George had taken off his red suit jacket and was loosening his tie. "So, thanks for chopping her head off for me." He moved forward with his hands clapped together. "Taking her on solo, yikes. So thanks for the assistance there," he moved forward a little more, "and your welcome for, you know, saving you," he was getting a little close to Dean now, "before she ripped into your ass like a Christmas present. So, win-win right?"

When George got a little too close for Cas's comfort, he moved forward and held the blade up against George's neck in warning. He raised his hands. "Whoa, easy."

"You need to back up." Cas left no question in his voice. George took a couple steps back from Dean. Cas kept the blade against his skin.

He smiled at the three of them. "So, how about that head?"

Dean looked at Cas and gave a slight shake of his head. "Yeah, not gonna happen, Georgie." Cas pressed the sword into his neck a little more as Dean stepped up to him. "Now, what is Dick building in Wisconsin?"

"I don't know. I barely know where Wisconsin is. I'm a West Coast Representative."

"You gonna keep killing people who don't sign on the dotted line?" Sam moved to stand behind Dean. Cas pressed the blade in a little when George didn't answer.

He hissed in pain. "Take it easy." He dipped his finger into the goo left behind by Joyce and licked it off his finger. They all made a face. "Killing people is not part of the agenda. Joyce just kept getting impatient. You've got nothing to worry about with me. Don't you get it? You guys are freaking out about the wrong thing."

"You think?"

"A couple of real estate deals? Come on, guys." Cas let the sword fall as George talked. "Big picture. You think it's just here? It's everywhere and it's a lot more ambitious than this project." He relaxed fully once Cas dropped the sword. "My advice, put your heads down and stay down." He smiled like he thought he was off the hook.

Dean moved into George's space. "Listen to me you gooey son of a bitch. You're gonna tell us what you're building here or I'm gonna wash your mouth out with soap." Dean pointed to the container of cleaner Sam had dunked him in earlier and sent him a glare that made George's confident look fall.

"I was hoping we could play nice." One look at the three glares sent his way let him know he was wrong. "If you must know, it's going to be a research center."

"Research for what?"

"Disease. This, gentlemen, is where we are going to cure cancer."

Sam laughed lightly. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would Dick Roman want to cure cancer?"

"Because, we're only here to help." He could actually say that with a smile.

"Help?" Cas looked at the brothers with the same confused expression. "I don't believe you."

George shrugged. "It's true. You'll see."

Dean shook his head. He knew there was an agenda behind this. There had to be. "You know what to do, Cas."

Cas nodded and lined the sword up with George's neck again. George's eyes widened in fear. "Hey, I told you what I know. I told you the truth. I thought…"

"Well you thought wrong." Dean smiled darkly and looked at Cas. Cas brought the sword back and sliced through George's neck.

They then packed up the safe and leviathan heads in the trailer outside. Dean was locking the back while Sam leaned against it with half-closed eyes. "Monsters curing cancer, words I never thought I'd say. Why does it make me so nervous?"

"Yeah, I hear ya. So, what do we do now?"

"You are gonna sleep on it. All the way to Frank's." Cas was loading what didn't fit in the trailer into the Impala. He was going to follow Dean and Sam in the truck.

"I wish I could."

"We'll find you a nice soft rock station. Always knocks you right out." Sam smiled and got in the truck. Dean opened his door and motioned for Cas to be ready to go. Dean pulled into the street with the Impala following behind to Frank's.

A few hours later, the two cars parked outside Frank's trailer in a muddy spot covered with trees. Rain was making the soft ground even softer under their shoes. "Frank." Dean called as he knocked on the trailer door. "Devero!" Dean knocked again. They could see the lights on inside. "What the hell is he doing in there?" Dean banged on the door. "FRANK!" He grabbed the door handle. "Don't shoot, we're coming in!"

Dean led the other two into the small trailer. The sight they were met with made all of them stop cold. Blood was splattered on every wall and over most items in the trailer. Most of Frank's equipment was smashed and papers were scattered all over the floor. "Not good." Dean took in the sight, a lump forming in his throat. Frank's body was nowhere in sight.


	17. Chapter 17

They spent the night clearing out what was left in Frank's trailer that they could reasonably carry with them and left the rest. No traces of Frank's body was anywhere, aside from the blood. They had to assume he was dead. The leviathans seemed to have finally gotten him.

With Frank's disappearance, or death, they needed a new place to stash the cursed boxes from the antique shop and Frank's papers that had been left behind. Dean led the way to the cabin in Montana. He hoped the house would help Sam sleep. His brother hadn't actually slept in a few days and Dean was getting really worried.

Dean should have known. Sam never wanted to drink, at least not this much. How did he not see this coming?

The three of them had been drinking in the cabin the night after getting back from Frank's. Sam had kept them coming until all of them were thoroughly smashed. Cas was the first to pass out on the couch. Dean followed soon after. The last thing he saw was Sam watching him with what he would think was worry if he had been sober.

Next thing he knew, Dean was being shaken awake by a frantic Cas. He groaned and covered his eyes. "What?" Cas was talking, but everything was muffled. All he caught was 'Sam'. "Cas, I can't…" He rolled away from Cas before being pulled forcibly from the couch and getting slapped sharply on his cheek. Cas's voice blasted through his haze as the sting spread across his face.

"…been in an accident. We have to go, now." Cas pulled Dean by his sleeve and all but threw him into the passenger's seat of the Impala.

The sun had barely risen and Dean wondered when exactly he had passed out. Cas drove with tightly pressed lips, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel. "What happened?" The look Cas sent him made his heart stop momentarily. He sat up straighter. "Cas, what happened?"

Cas looked like maybe he thought Dean was joking before flaring his nostrils and grating out, "Sam was in an accident. He's in the hospital." His eyes turned back to the road and didn't look away for the rest of the drive. Dean's stomach was now in a knot. When had Sam left? What happened? Was he gonna lose Sam now too?

Dean and Cas had tried to get in the hospital to see Sam, but the staff wouldn't let them. They were told to ask Kadinsky. When he asked where he was, Dean took off for the man's office. Cas and one of the nurses followed him. The nurse was trying to stop him, but there was no one that could keep Dean from seeing his brother. He busted through the doctor's office. "I was told to talk to Kadinsky. Are you Kadinsky? Why can't I see my brother?"

The nurse following them was very irritated by this point. "You need to schedule an appointment."

Dean turned to her with a growl. "Then schedule me!" He looked at the doctor. "He was in a car crash. Why the hell can't I see him?"

The doctor raised a hand. "You're Sam Smith's brother?"

"Yes."

Kadinsky looked at the nurse. "It's okay. Thank you." The nurse left in a huff. Kadinsky stood up. "Sam was admitted with a broken rib and lacerations."

"Okay," Dean was glad that he hadn't been injured too bad, "that's not so bad. And?"

"And, he's on our locked psychiatric floor."

Dean's heart dropped. Cas closed his eyes and laid a hand on Dean's arm. "I know he's had some trouble, but…"

"So you're aware that Sam is experiencing a full blown psychotic episode?"

Dean was taken aback. "Psychotic? Come on, it's not like the guy is freakin' Norman Bates."

"I'm sure he isn't. We need to determine if his state was brought on by the insomnia or whether the insomnia is a symptom of his condition. You understand? So we can figure out how to treat him."

Dean nodded in understanding. "Well, all I can say is that the sleep thing is new."

"Right, well we've pumped him full of as many sedatives as we safely can. So far he won't go under. I've never seen anything like it."

"So can we see him?"

Kadinsky looked hesitant for a moment. "I suppose that would be alright. Follow me." He led them to the locked floor and the doorway of Sam's room.

Dean did not like the sight of his brother dressed in white scrubs laying on the small bed. His face was pale and small cuts circled his left eye. Dark circles attested to his lack of sleep and made Dean want Lucifer to be visible so he could strangle the angel. The doctor left the two of them in the room with Sam.

"How you feeling?" Dean moved to sit on the bed by Sam's feet as Cas sat at the small desk by the door.

"You should probably cancel my UFC fight." His voice was weak and his eyes half-closed.

"Sam, I'm gonna find you some help."

Sam snorted lightly. "I don't think it's out there, Dean."

"We don't know that."

"We know better than most. The last healer we met had a reaper on a leash, remember?"

Dean stood with a sigh. "Yeah, I remember."

"I'm just sayin'."

"What, that you don't want my help?"

"No, I'm just sayin, don't do this to yourself."

"If I don't find something…"

"Then, I'll die." Dean looked at Sam like he had hit him. "Dean, we knew this was coming."

Dean shook his head. "No."

"Yes, I'm sure Cas told you about what was going on with me. Hell, he even warned you about this when you put my soul back."

Dean looked up and sighed again. Cas looked at Sam. "I'm sorry, Sam. This is my fault. I brought this on you and I truly intended to fix it, but…"

"Cas, stop." Sam gave him a weak smile. "I don't blame you. I told you a long time ago, I forgive you for everything."

Dean shook his head. "Sam, quit being Dalai-freakin Yoda about this. Get pissed!"

Sam shrugged. "I'm too tired. This is what happens when you throw a soul into Lucifer's dog bowl. You think there's really going to be some cure out there?"

"If there is, I'm gonna find it." With that, Dean turned and left. He didn't want Sam to be alone, but he couldn't see how broken and tired he was anymore without getting angrier.

Cas moved to lay a hand on Sam's shoulder. "We're going to help you, Sam. I promise." Sam nodded. Cas then followed after Dean.

The search for any kind of healer started the second they got back to the cabin. Dean was calling all of his and Bobby's contacts. Cas was searching for any hint of possible healers on Sam's computer. For hours they came up with nothing. They didn't talk or go out for food. They knew what they had to do and every second they found nothing felt like a failure.

Cas was reading an article on the laptop when somehow a new webpage opened itself. Cas leaned back from the computer and eyed the screen warily. He had never liked technology much, or it seemed like it didn't like him. The webpage had a news story about a couple strange deaths in a small town in Colorado. He read it over and something familiar caught his attention. "Dean, look at this."

Dean looked up from Bobby's book of contacts and walked over. "What is it?" Cas pointed to the story. Dean almost immediately looked away. "We're not looking for a job, Cas. We need a healer, not a killer." Dean closed the page and turned to walk away but a small beeping noise caught his attention. The page had opened itself again. "What the hell?"

Cas held his hands up. "I didn't touch anything. It opened itself last time too."

Dean looked more interested but he still shrugged. "We're still not looking for a job though. Ignore it."

"Dean, wait." He grabbed Dean's sleeve. "Just read it."

He rolled his eyes. "Just tell me what you want me to see."

"Look at the deaths, Dean." He pointed to the screen. "Local preacher found dead, witness says it was an evil Jesus." He pointed to the next picture. "Politician found dead after admitting to having an affair. She apparently jumped off her hotel balcony."

"So?"

"This one is what made me stop." He pointed to the last entry. "Another strange death reported when a local man, famous for his protesting of the Twilight movies and all vampire related material, was found drained with two distinct puncture marks on his neck."

Dean furrowed his brows. "Okay, so something weird is going on, but how would this be relevant to Sam?"

"The deaths sound strange." Cas turned to face Dean. "It's reminding me of the Trickster."

"You'll have to back that up a little before I'll buy that."

"I'll look into it, but if it is…"

"Just, look it up okay?" Dean didn't believe it was a Trickster, but Cas seemed set on it and Dean had other things to worry about right now. He left Cas to dig more up on Colorado while he called a few more people.

About an hour later, Cas sat next to Dean on the couch and handed him the laptop. Multiple tabs were open and Cas looked determined. "What am I looking at?"

"The priest, Father Christopher, was apparently not as good as he let on. He was accused many times of being seen drinking and smoking along with a few women saying he had slept with them. One even said their son was his."

"So, bad priest who preaches morals and celibacy, but is secretly breaking all his vows is killed by Jesus." He smiled. "That's a new one."

"Right," Cas opened a new tab with a picture of the politician. "Grace Larson was an extreme right wing conservative who stood on the platform of stable family life, good Christian values, and all around traditional views. A week before her death, she announced publicly that she had been having an affair. The night she died, employees at the hotel said they saw a man go upstairs with her, but no one saw him leave or could ID him."

"That could be a legit killing, Cas. Stuff like that happens."

"Of course, but think about it. Conservative woman ends up doing what she preaches is wrong and ends up being killed by a man she was probably cheating with."

Dean shrugged. "Okay, I'll give you that one. What about Twilight-boy?"

"Jake Kris," he opened the last tab, "camped out at every movie premier with a few others and protested. Calling the movie and books 'evil, Satan worshiping' while saying that Stephanie Meyer was corrupting young people with her vampire filth."

"Wow, that's harsh. I may not like the movies, but that's a little much."

"Jake was found dead, as I said, with what seemed to be vampire marks and was drained completely of blood."

"Did anyone see that one?"

Cas shook his head. "There was one girl, but the police didn't release what she said. All they said was that their suspect was described as tall, thin, pale and seemed to sparkle in the sunlight."

Dean held back a laugh. "Alright, so three jerks get ganked by what they preached as bad. Except the priest, but who else would get him if not Jesus? Fine, I'll buy a Trickster, but I still don't know what we can do with this, Cas."

Cas closed the laptop and moved it off Dean. "How many Tricksters have you ever met or known of?"

Dean frowned. "Just Gabriel."

"Exactly."

"Whoa, Cas. Gabriel's dead. Lucifer killed him years ago."

"But what else could this be?"

"Another Trickster!"

"Dean," Cas ran a hand over his face, "Gabriel was Loki. He created Loki to hide from Heaven. Tricksters were born out of the story Gabriel started by acting as a Pagan. There are no other Tricksters. It only seemed that way because of how long Gabriel was on Earth and how quickly he could fly to different places."

Dean's head was beginning to buzz. "What? Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. Even if it's not Gabriel, a Pagan God may still be able to help us."

Dean was still skeptical of it being Gabriel. If it was, why was he hiding? "Fine, since nothing else has come through let's check this out."

They drove to Colorado, hoping to find some answers there.

Dean and Cas looked into the three deaths more and tried to find a common link so they could locate the one responsible. They were in their motel room when a flap of wings made them still. "Well, well," they turned to face the voice they both immediately recognized, "look what the cat dragged in." Gabriel had his hands on his hips and shaking his head. "Just when I thought I was free of you."

"Gabriel." Cas's eyes widened in shock. "You're alive."

"Yep." The archangel pulled the chair beside him over and sat down. "I owe it all to you."

"What?"

Gabriel smiled. "When you opened Purgatory and let us all in, I was there. Let me tell you, it was a bitch to hold onto those leviathans when you sent everyone else back." He chuckled.

"You've been back since the leviathans were set loose?" Dean moved closer to the angel.

"Yeah, how else could I be back?"

"You were in Purgatory?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Duh, going to Heaven would kind of be redundant and Hell wouldn't really make sense." He leaned back, lifting the front two legs off the ground. "So, let me guess what brought you here looking for me." He leaned back more and reached for the wall behind him, somehow keeping the chair balanced. "You made a mess, again, and want me to fix it?" He lifted his head to look at them. "Am I close?"

"You know the leviathans are loose." Cas was beginning to doubt that Gabriel would be much help. "You can stop them, send them back to Purgatory."

"True." He leaned back again. "But why should I?"

"Because, they're gonna destroy everything." Dean was really tempted to kick that chair out from under the angel. "But there's another reason we were looking for you."

"Really?" He set the chair back down. "Why is that?"

"It's Sam."

"Yeah, where is he?" Gabriel looked around. "Last I heard, he had been saved from Hell by some unknown force and fighting with his brother again. Besides, you have help," he pointed to Cas, "what do you need me for?"

"They don't have me, not really." Cas looked at the floor as Gabriel gave him a curious look. "Look at me, brother."

Gabriel squinted at him, raking him up and down. Realization washed over his face. "Oh, Cas. You're human." He stood up and walked closer to him.

"I chose it." His voice, though sad before, was confident now.

"Really?" Gabriel looked him over again and noticed the gold ring on his left hand. He glanced at Dean and saw it's companion. He smiled. "Aww, aren't you two just adorable? Hubbys, huh?"

Dean rolled his eyes at Gabriel's laugh.

"Well, if you're gonna fall, it might as well be for love right?" He sobered up a little. "So, what's going on with Sam?"

Dean looked at Cas. "I brought him back from Hell, from the Cage."

Gabriel's eyebrows raised. "Really? By yourself?" Cas nodded. "I'm impressed."

"Don't be. I didn't do well. I couldn't get all of him."

"You mean…?"

"His soul." Dean didn't have to see Gabriel to know his eyes grew wide in horror.

"Oh, Cas. This is why nobody goes after a soul alone. How many angels did it take you to get Dean out? A dozen? More?"

"I made a mistake."

"You sure as hell did." He crossed his arms. "How long was his soul in the Cage? Please tell me it's not still there."

"No, but it was there for a year and a half."

Gabriel whistled. "And you put it back?" He looked to Dean after Cas nodded. "Good grief, Dean. Did you want Sam to completely collapse in on himself. 'Cause that's exactly what's gonna happen."

Dean leveled a glare at the man. "What was I supposed to do? Should I have left him there forever?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could have had whoever grabbed his soul to send it to Heaven."

"And let Sam run around soulless?"

"Hey!" The room fell silent after Cas's outburst. "This argument is pointless now. Sam needs help, that's all that matters." He looked hopefully at Gabriel. "Will you help us?"

"Why should I?" Dean huffed and clenched his fists. "Seriously, why? If I do this, someone will catch a whiff of an archangel and they'll come for me. No thanks," he waved his arms, "I just want to live and be left alone."

Dean clenched his jaw and advanced on the short man. "Gabriel, if you don't help, you better start running now." His voice was seething. "If I have to watch while Sam suffers and dies, you should watch your back. I will not stop until you're dead, and it won't be quick either, I promise you that."

Gabriel smirked. "Don't you dare threaten me, Dean." He tilted his head. "How did you like TV Land last time? I could send you back. No fun channels this time and there would be no getting out."

"Come on, Cas, this dick is useless." He turned away from the angel and opened the door. Cas stood where he was, looking at Gabriel. "Cas."

"One second." He moved to stand in front of his brother. "Gabriel, I get it. You don't like Dean, you may not like me much, and you may not even care about Sam. But, think about what Sam has done for this world, for humanity. He sacrificed himself to save this world and everyone in it. He jumped into Lucifer's Cage with him and spent the next century being tortured by Michael and Lucifer. He has done nothing to deserve even a portion of what is happening to him, and if you can turn your back on that you truly are heartless and evil and Dean won't be the only one hunting you."

Gabriel had the heart to at least look affected by what Cas had said as he turned to join Dean. "Wait." Dean and Cas turned to face the archangel. He pursed his lips, "I'm going to regret this." He sighed dramatically. "Where is he?"

"Montana." Dean didn't move from the doorway.

"Where exactly? I can fly there."

"No," he did move then and stepped close to Gabriel, "you're gonna fly us to the outside of the hospital and we're all gonna walk in together."

"What, you don't trust me?" He held his hands to his chest.

Dean shook his head. "Not as far as I could throw you."

"Fine."

Dean gave him the address of the hospital and the three of them landed in the parking lot beside the Impala. Dean's head was reeling from the flight, but he was well enough to grab Gabriel by the arm and drag him into the building.

"Where is he?" Dean asked the empty room. Sam was not in eyesight and the staff said he should have been here. Gabriel stilled behind him.

"There's a demon nearby." He looked down the hall. Before Dean could ask, Gabriel disappeared.

"Gabriel!" Dean lifted his arms in irritation. "Great."

Cas looked at Dean with wide eyes. "What are we gonna do?"

A flutter of wings and a creak of the hospital bed alerted the couple to Gabriel's reappearance. Sam was twitching and making small noises on the bed. Gabriel turned back to them with a frown.

"What happened?"

"There was a demon giving him a lot of electroshock therapy." Dean's horrified expression made him add quickly, "Don't worry, he's dead."

"Good, get on with it." He pointed to Sam.

Gabriel shook is head. "I already tried. It won't work."

"What do you mean, it won't work?"

"I mean, there's nothing left to fix. Whatever block he had in his head is too far gone for me to fix."

"What are you saying," Dean stepped close to Gabriel, panic in his voice, "that he'll be like this until it kills him?"

Gabriel shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry."

"You're an archangel. There must be something." Cas didn't want to give up yet. There had to be a way.

"I…" he shook his head and looked at Sam. He was thinking. An idea lit up his features, but it soon faded to a troubled look. "There could be something."

"What?" Dean would take anything.

"I might be able to shift what's there."

"Shift? What does that mean?" He looked at Cas for help.

Cas knew what Gabriel intended to do and quickly shook his head. "No, Gabriel."

"You got another idea?" Gabriel wished that there was another option. He didn't want to do this, but he had no way out, and Cas was right. Sam didn't deserve this.

"Shift it to me." Cas stepped up beside Gabriel.

"Whoa, wait." Dean reached for Cas.

"It'll kill you. You're human." Gabriel reached for Sam.

"It's my mess," he pushed Dean's hand off and grabbed Gabriel, "let me take it."

"No." Gabriel and Dean spoke simultaneously.

"Cas, you're insane." Dean tugged Cas back. "There's no way you're taking this on. Gabriel's right, it'll kill you."

"I can handle Luci. Don't worry." Gabriel put on his best fake smile.

"But, the leviathans. If Gabriel is distracted with Lucifer, how will we stop them?"

"We'll figure something out. It'll be no different than what we were facing a week ago, except Sam will be functional, healthy." Dean held Cas's arms tight, not wanting to give him an inch to latch onto Gabriel again.

"This is my decision, Cas." Gabriel was practically killing himself again for these humans. How was this his life?

"Dean, you need Gabriel."

"Not as much as I need you, you stupid bastard." He pulled Cas close in a hug. Cas tried to push him away, but Dean nodded to Gabriel and held Cas tight against him.

Gabriel sat beside a half-conscious Sam. "Alright, I think you've had enough quality time with Luci, Sam. Time to give him over." He put a hand on Sam's forehead.

Cas was protesting and pushing against Dean, but Dean stepped back, taking Cas with him. Red light pulsed through Sam's head to Gabriel's arm and up his body. Sam had gone stiff from the contact. The red veins lit up Gabriel's face and turned his eyes red. His hand let go of Sam and Sam let out a gasp and raised his arms.

"Sam!" Dean let go of Cas and ran to his brother's side.

"Dean?" Sam sat up, eyes wide in surprise. He saw the archangel on the bed. "Gabriel? What…?"

Cas ran to Gabriel. "Gabriel." He shook his brother lightly. "Brother!" The angel didn't respond. His eyes were wide and he was shaking.

"What's going on?" Sam pushed off the bed. "How is Gabriel here?"

"Sam, are you okay?" Dean grabbed Sam's shirt, mirroring what Cas was doing with Gabriel. "Lucifer still in there at all?"

"What?" He looked at Dean. "I don't think so." Sam did feel a lot better, but more tired than he had ever been in his life. "What happened?"

"Gabriel shifted what was in your head to his." They turned to look at the archangel. Cas had let him go and taken a step away. "Cas, you okay?"

Before Cas could answer, Gabriel stood up and growled loudly. His voice was deeper and louder than any of them had heard before. "Get out! NOW!" The room began to shake and the lights on the ceiling busted, showering them in glass.

"Gabriel." Cas moved toward him but was thrown back violently by Gabriel. Dean pushed Sam out the door before helping Cas up. Gabriel was staring at a spot next to Dean and Cas.

"We should go." Dean walked Cas back to the door. The bed then flipped and crashed into the opposite wall. Dean then ran with Cas in tow. The door slammed shut behind them. Sam was waiting in the hallway. The three of them watched through the small window as Gabriel glared and clenched his fists. Then in a bright flash of light, he was gone. "What just happened?"

"He's gone." Cas walked away from the door.

"Gone, like dead?"

"No, he moved. Probably to minimize the destruction he will cause."

"Why would he do that for me?"

Dean put a hand on Sam's arm. "Don't question it, Sam. Let's just get out of here. You need some sleep." Sam nodded in agreement.

The three of them stole Sam's clothes back from where they had taken them when he was admitted and snuck out the back. The Impala was waiting for them. Sam had laid out in the back seat and was asleep before the hospital was out of sight. It wasn't too long of a drive back to the cabin, but Dean just parked the car and sat for a while. He didn't have the heart to wake up Sam yet.

Cas was in the passenger's seat. He hadn't said anything since Gabriel disappeared. Dean took his hand. "Hey, you alright?" Cas gave him a small smile and nodded. "We can just sit here a little if that's okay?" Cas tightened his grip and nodded again. Dean glanced back to his sleeping brother and felt a relief wash over him that he hadn't felt in a long time.


	18. Chapter 18

Ten silent minutes passed before Dean finally roused Sam enough to get him into their cabin. He had never really fully woken up as he shuffled to his room. Dean followed to make sure he made it. Dean pulled off Sam's jacket carefully as his brother tried to get in bed fully clothed. Sam let Dean take off the jacket before falling to the bed like a tree falling in the woods. His brother shifted a couple times before stilling in sleep. Before leaving him to get some needed sleep, Dean slipped off Sam's shoes and placed them by the bed.

Cas had changed into his pajamas when Dean entered their room. He slipped off most of his clothing before joining Cas on the bed. It wasn't late at all, but Dean didn't want to work or go out. He just wanted to rest. Cas was still beside him, staring up at the ceiling with a slight wrinkle between his eyebrows. Dean closed his eyes, and just enjoyed the silence.

Twenty minutes later, Dean realized that Cas hadn't moved at all since he laid down. He looked over at him only to find him exactly as he was before. "Cas," he didn't need to whisper, but he didn't want to disturb the silence, "you okay?"

Blue eyes barely visible in the dark turned to face him. "Fine." Dean almost didn't hear the quiet reply.

"You sure?"

He nodded and looked back up at the ceiling. "I was just thinking about Gabriel. Don't get me wrong," he looked back at Dean, "I am happy that Sam is better, truly, but I wouldn't wish his situation on anyone."

Dean could understand that. He reached out and found Cas's hand, lacing their fingers together. "He made his choice, Cas."

"I know." He held Dean's hand lightly. "It's just…It was nice to see him. So many angels are dead, or gone." Cas closed his eyes briefly as he remembered all his brothers that had fought by his side and died, some by his own hand.

Dean gripped his hand comfortingly. "Hey, you never know. Maybe Gabriel wasn't the only one that got out."

Cas turned hopeful eyes to him. "You think?"

"Sure. There has to be at least one angel as stubborn as Gabriel right? Maybe we'll come across one someday." Cas nodded thoughtfully and chewed on his bottom lip. They fell silent again for a moment. After glancing back, he nudged Cas lightly. "You tired?"

"No."

"Me neither." He sighed. "What could we possibly do to pass the time?" He gave Cas a smirk.

A small smile tugged on the corner of Cas's lips. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

Dean laughed lightly and rolled onto his side to face Cas. He slid closer and kissed him. It was short and chaste, not much more than a press of closed lips. Fingertips ran over Cas's cheek as Dean kissed him again. Dean shifted to lay over Cas and weave his fingers through his hair.

He wasn't rushing or pressing this too far. It wasn't a race this time. For once they had time and Dean finally felt relaxed enough to really make this good for both of them. Sam was safe and sleeping and for the first time in a long time Dean didn't feel like there was an immediate danger threatening to break down their door.

They kissed for what felt like hours, or maybe it had only been a few minutes, they couldn't tell. Cas held lightly to Dean's bare shoulders, hand fitting perfectly into the mark on his left arm. He nipped at Dean's bottom lip and squeezed his arm.

Dean moaned against him and pulled on his hair. Cas arched up and slipped his hands down Dean's back, dragging his nails as he went. Their kisses quickly turned passionate and desperate. Tongues moved together and whispered moans were traded. Dean's heart was racing as he pulled back to catch his breath.

Cas nuzzled Dean's neck as he gasped for air. Dean held Cas's chin and kissed him shortly before pushing his head back, exposing his neck for Dean to kiss and bite. Cas shivered at the feeling and held Dean's hair loosely as he kissed down his throat to his shirt collar. Dean pushed Cas's t-shirt up to his armpits before kissing a line down to his bellybutton. He closed his eyes and pushed back against the pillow as Dean licked a line up his tight stomach.

Dean smirked when Cas gasped and made a choked sound as he trailed fingertips up his sides and over his chest. He pressed a thumb over a nipple and watched as Cas moaned again, arching into the touch. Dean rubbed circles around the sensitive skin, feeling it harden under his finger. Cas's mouth fell open and his eyes squeezed shut. Dean then started on the other nipple in identical moves while kissing his throat. He could feel Cas moaning against his lips.

Soon, Cas was panting and gripping the sheets with white knuckles. Dean kept his fingers working as he lowered his lips to join his fingers in working Cas up. He licked one nipple quickly before wincing as Cas gripped and pulled his hair sharply. Dean looked up, but Cas' eyes were still closed, so he pulled one hand away and closed his lips around the sensitive spot. Cas mewled and gripped Dean's hair again, not pulling this time. Feeling encouraged, Dean swiped his tongue over his skin before pulling back a little and blowing on the wet area.

"Dean!" Any other time, Dean would have thought Cas was upset by the sound of his voice. He knew better though. Cas finally opened his eyes and leaned up to capture Dean's lips in a fierce kiss. Dean allowed it for a moment, but gently pushed Cas back down, keeping his fingers working.

He watched in amazement as Cas practically writhed under him from the treatment. He leaned down, barely brushing Cas's lips, "I bet I could make you come just from this couldn't I?" Cas whimpered and tried to kiss him. Dean leaned away. "I wouldn't even have to touch you below the waist." He swiped his tongue out over Cas's lips and sped up his fingers, making Cas practically growl under him. "I'll have to test that," he kissed Cas deeply, "but not tonight."

Dean pushed himself up and tugged Cas's shirt off him completely before leaning down and kissing him again. Cas wrapped his arms around his neck and held him tight, kissing back with all he had. He tried to roll Dean onto his back, but Dean pushed back and kept Cas under him. He moved a hand down Cas's bare chest and further to the front of his pajama pants, pressing into Cas's obvious erection. Cas moaned and thrusted against his hand.

When Cas moved a little too much, Dean pulled his hand away. "Easy, Cas." He kissed his lips briefly. "This isn't a race, okay?" Cas nodded. Dean leaned down and traced Cas's tattoo with his tongue and his hand moved over him again, slowly.

Eventually, Dean started down Cas's chest and pulled his loose pants down with him, tossing them off the bed. Cas's breathing was shaky as he waited for Dean to move. Dean took in the sight of Cas open and laid out for him. He crawled up between his legs and kissed him, mapping the roof of his mouth with his tongue. Cas wrapped his legs and arms around him, pressing their bodies together with nothing but their boxers separating them.

They just stayed that way for a while. Kissing, moving against each other in slow movements, whispering names and encouragements. Dean then slid down Cas, pushing his legs open a little and pressing his mouth over Cas's boxers and erection. Cas moaned loudly. Dean hooked his fingers under the top of the thin underwear and pulled them off.

Cas cried out again when Dean closed his lips around his straining cock. He was already about to lose it and just hold Dean still while he fucked his mouth, but he tried to hold back. Cas bit his lip and felt the sheets almost tear under his fingers as Dean licked and sucked him perfectly. "Dean, please." He pleaded, not wanting to end this all too soon.

Dean took the warning and let Cas go and moved to kiss one thigh while his hand massaged the other. He moved up his leg slowly, trailing kisses and gentle nips. Cas was practically vibrating with the urge to take what he wanted, and Dean knew it. He loved that Cas was letting him take charge tonight without Dean needing to forcibly pin him like Cas had to do to him on occasion, not that Dean didn't enjoy that too.

Dean circled Cas's entrance with a finger lightly and looked up to meet his eye, "Cas, do you have…" As if reading his mind, Cas reached out to the table beside the bed and retrieved the lube from the drawer. He tossed it to Dean.

He coated his fingers generously and began working Cas open. When he had three fingers in and Cas was thrusting against him, Dean bent down to kiss him. Cas latched a hand on the back of his neck and held him in place to kiss him thoroughly. "Dean, please…" Cas moaned when he hit his prostate. "Please, I'm ready."

Dean grabbed the pillow beside Cas and placed it under the other man's hips as he slipped his fingers out. He quickly removed his boxers and slicked himself up with the lube before scooting up to Cas and lining up to enter him. They both moaned in pleasure as Dean pushed in slowly.

Cas's legs closed around Dean's back and urged him impossibly closer. Dean waited for Cas to fully adjust before pulling out and thrusting in. It was easy at first, slow, but soon with Cas's urging it had gotten quicker and more uncontrolled. Dean braced himself on the mattress, kissing Cas's neck as he thrusted into him. Cas met every move and held Dean like his life depended on it.

"Dean, harder." Cas's hot breath puffed over Dean's ear and he snapped his hips into him, pulling a cry from his husband. "Yes, Dean." He grunted and held Dean tight enough to press their bodies together completely. He scraped nails across Dean's scalp and sank his teeth in the soft skin of his shoulder.

"Cas, fuck," Dean sped up, the bed creaking with every move. Sweat was forming on both of them, only easing the slide of their bodies. Dean turned his head to bury his face in Cas's hair. He could smell the cheap shampoo they shared and a smell that was unique to Cas, something that Dean would always associate with him. It was like a mix of the shampoo and light traces of gun powder and motor oil, that he probably got from Dean after he had to fix something in the Impala, and just a faint hint of the ozone smell he had as an angel. It still lingered there like part of his grace had stayed behind.

"Dean," Cas's grip was tight enough to almost break skin on his back, "I'm so…" he cried out and came over their stomachs.

Dean stilled as Cas tightened around him inside and out. He was close himself and started thrusting when Cas relaxed slightly. Cas still moaned and whispered into his ear as he chased his release. He was pounding into Cas, holding his hair and soaking in his smell and the feeling of him wrapped around him. "I love you, Cas." He barely whispered it, but he knew he could hear it.

Cas kissed his cheek, holding his face their as Dean continued to move. "I love you, Dean." He pressed his forehead against Dean. "Come on, baby."

At the words, Dean's orgasm hit him and he filled Cas with a loud moan. When his body relaxed and his exhaustion hit him, he let his head fall to Cas's shoulder.

They stayed their a while, holding each other close and letting their racing hearts and breath slow. Dean then moved off of Cas and curled up beside him. Cas pulled the covers up over them after wiping them both clean.

"Cas," he hummed in question, "did you call me 'baby'?" Dean smiled.

Cas laughed lightly. "You seemed to like it."

"Well, don't make a habit of it," he smiled again, "at least not in public."

"Whatever makes you happy, baby." Cas smiled as Dean shoved him away. He grabbed Dean and pulled him back against him. Dean tried to act annoyed but couldn't keep from smiling. They fell asleep soon after.

* * *

Cas was eating a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch sitting cross-legged on the couch while watching CSI. Dean had rolled his eyes, he hated those kind of shows, but Cas liked trying to figure out who the killer was before they did.

Dean kept himself busy cleaning his weapons at the table. Sam was still sleeping and Dean wasn't gonna wake him for anything less than a sudden leviathan invasion. He hoped they could take a few days off to let Sam rest and make sure he was fully recovered. Thinking of that, Dean realized Sam would probably be pretty hungry. He knows he didn't eat much in the hospital or the days before. "Hey, Cas?"

"Yes?" Cas didn't look away from the TV as flashbacks of the crime played on the screen.

"Is there any food here besides that cereal?"

Cas shook his head. "I didn't see any. Except for some cheese and nearly moldy bread."

Dean scrunched his nose. "Okay," he stood up, "I'm gonna go get some food for Sam. Good food." He grabbed his keys and opened the door. "I'll be back soon."

"Okay." Cas waved absently, still staring at the screen intently.

Dean shook his head and left.

When he got back, Sam had joined Cas on the couch and the episode they were watching had just ended. Cas looked confused and Sam was smiling. "But, why would she have killed him? The brother had more motive."

Sam shook his head. "She had enough reason, Cas. One thing you should know: never piss off a woman. They might actually kill you." Sam smiled at Cas's thoughtful look and nod. He waved at Dean. "Hey."

"Hey." Dean set his bags of groceries on the counter. "I figured you would want some real food, so I made a run for you. Plenty of salads and chicken and whatever else you usually eat."

"Thanks." Sam stood up to go see what Dean had. "I'm starving."

"How do you feel?" Dean looked his brother over. The dark circles around his eyes had faded and he had a genuine smile on his face.

"Okay," he looked up, "better."

"Good." Dean watched Sam a moment before Cas caught his eye moving to dump his bowl into the sink. "No hallucinations or sounds?"

"No." Sam pulled a bag of lettuce out of the bag in front of him. "I'm okay." He frowned slightly. "I just wish I didn't feel like…" he sighed, "like I just passed on the crazy to Gabriel, you know?"

"You didn't, Sam. Gabriel made his choice."

"Let's not, okay?" Sam raised a hand.

Dean's response was cut off when his phone rang in his jacket. He stepped away from the counter, "Hello." He listened a second before his eyebrows drew together. "Wait, who is this?" Sam and Cas turned to watch as Dean tilted his head, trying to think of who he was. Then a light seemed to go on in Dean's eyes. "Oh, right. Hey, how you doin', Garth?" Dean nodded as Garth talked. "Junction City, Kansas? Okay, we'll get there as soon as we can." So much for a few days off.

"Who's Garth again?" Sam asked when Dean had put his phone away.

"That scrawny guy we helped out of a messy situation a couple years ago, remember? Poor guy couldn't get through a hunt without nearly getting killed every time he entered a new room."

Sam thought for a moment before smiling. "Oh yeah, the one that gave you a big hug before he left?" Sam laughed as he finished his sentence.

Dean had forgotten about that. "Yeah, that one." Sam laughed again. "He needs some help and he did help us out last time we saw him so…"

They all agreed to go. First, Sam ate a good sized chicken salad then they packed the car and headed to Kansas.

The three of them suited up and entered the morgue where they were set to meet Garth. They had to restrain their strange looks when they saw the slim man standing next to the deceased wearing a military uniform. "Gentlemen, this is Corporal Brown."

"Corporal James Brown, I'm shipping out to AF Monona. I'm here to pay respects to my cousin as I will not be able to attend the funeral."

"That must be terrible for your family." The man shook his head. "Losing two brothers in such a short amount of time."

Garth's eyes widened momentarily and looked at the three of them. They shared irritated looks. "Yeah, my aunt is really torn up about it."

Sam was holding the file for the dead man in front of them, but now that the other one was the brother they needed to see them both. "Doc, can we see both files please?"

The doctor nodded and retrieved the file for them. His cell phone went off in his jacket. He handed Sam the file and looked at the caller ID. "Oh, it's my wife. I'll be in my office."

When the doctor was out of sight, they turned to face Garth. "You didn't say they were brothers." Sam had opened the other file.

"Dude, I just found out about the other corpse. I'm sucking up info as I go."

Dean waved at Garth's outfit. "What, are you allergic to a suit?"

"No," Garth pulled at his jacket lightly, "I just look good in a uniform."

"Yep," Sam closed the files, "same cause of death." He handed the files to Cas and walked to the computer across the room.

"Yeah, gutted at night in the woods where legend says the ghost of Jenny Greentree roams." Dean pulled out his EMF meter and held it over the body. "Oh, I already scanned for," the meter started beeping, "EMF. I guess mine must be broken again."

"Okay, I'm reading your mail. Ghost of Jenny Greentree."

"But that's just it, I torched her bones."

"She still might have something keeping her here." Cas closed the files as he spoke.

"Highly doubtful, chick was homeless. Plus, is just me or is this less evil spirit and more monster chow?"

Dean nodded in agreement as he lifted the sheet for a look at the damage. Cas looked over his shoulder. The boy's stomach was ripped clear through, leaving a big hole. "Werewolf?"

"Except a witness said that whatever was chasing vic numero uno was invisible."

"Invisible ghost werewolf?"

"Why do you think I asked for backup?"

"Cas, you ever seen anything that does that?" Dean turned to the other man.

Cas looked over the wound. "There is more than one thing capable doing this kind of damage." He shook his head. "It's impossible to say what it is exactly."

"Hey," Sam called from the computer, "any of you heard of Thighslapper Ale?"

Garth turned to Sam. "Is that a stripper or a beverage?"

"Beverage," Dean rolled his eyes, "for douche bags."

"Uh, number one microbrew in the Northwest." Sam read of the screen.

"But, we're in Kansas." Garth knitted his eyebrows.

"I rest my case." Dean moved to look over Sam's shoulder. "What's your point?"

"The owner is the dad to the dead brothers."

Garth nodded determinedly. "Right, I'll can the uniform, go Fed, and meet you at the brewery in 40." He exited the morgue.

Sam and Cas were sending worried looks at Dean. Neither one of them thought Garth was too impressive. Dean shrugged. "He grows on ya."

The four of them met up outside the brewery to talk to the family working there. They were greeted at the door by the owner's daughter. "Agents, I'm Marie. I'm a manager."

"Thanks for coming in on a Sunday." Dean nodded to her.

"We want to help. Anything we can do." She led them to the offices.

Dean looked around at the pictures and posters on the wall. "So, all this is your dad's?"

"And his friend's, Randy Baxter. They own the placed together now."

"Now?" Sam asked.

"Well, since Dale died."

A voice from one of the offices drew their attention. One of the employees was getting a warning from the manager. "You think I just come in late whenever I want?"

The employee was apologizing when Marie spoke again. "The charming Randy Baxter." She nodded to the angry manager.

"Congratulations, you've just been assigned the graveyard shift. Be one second late and you're fired." The employee walked off with his eyes down and his shoulders hunched slightly.

"He's actually a really nice guy. It's just not easy being the axe-guy."

"So true." Dean nodded to her.

Garth took a small step away from the group. "Well, my comrades have got you covered so if you'll excuse me."

Not wanting to let Garth go off alone and risk missing any important information, Sam decided to join him. "Yeah, I'll go with you."

Sam and Garth went to speak to the father of the deceased boys and left Dean and Cas with Marie. "Mr. McCann," Sam walked into the office, "we'll be brief, I promise."

"Mr. McCann, is there any reason to believe your sons may have had enemies?"

He looked between them briefly. "We were told they were animal attacks."

"We just need to explore every possibility."

"They've got lots of friends." He closed his eyes, grief clear on his face. "No."

"Well, do they work here with you like Marie does? Could someone have been jealous?"

"No, Marie's the only one. No…there's…" He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Jim, it's okay." Randy was at the desk beside them. He looked at Sam and Garth. "Let him get some rest. I'll answer your questions."

"Of course." Sam thanked Jim as he left and the two of them sat in the chairs in front of the office desk. Randy sat down to talk to them. "How well do you know the Jim and his family?"

"I knew all of them really well. I'm godfather to all four of Jim's kids. Ray and Trevor loved their fun, but they would never do anything crazy."

"No rugrats of your own?" Garth asked.

"Just Jim's. They would borrow my car, raid my fridge."

"The two of you started this company with a partner, right?" Sam wondered if that death could be related as well.

"Yeah, Dale." He pointed to a picture by the window with the three of them. "He passed away a few months ago."

"Passed away in the woods, or…" Apparently Garth was thinking the same as Sam.

"He took is own life."

Garth and Sam looked down. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"He had problems for a long time. Look, this is just a nightmare. First Dale, now this. This was gonna be our big year. We were selling Thighslapper to one of the biggest distributers in the US. It's been in the works for months. News is gonna hit the public soon."

"Well," Garth shifted in his chair, "that's the brass ring isn't it?" While Garth talked, Sam noticed an out of place looking box sitting on the shelf behind Randy. It had some form of Asian writing on it and was covered in dust.

"Given different circumstances, yeah, we'd be celebrating right now."

The four of them met back up and joined Garth in his motel room. Sam was trying to find what they were dealing with on his laptop, Dean was looking through their dad's journal, Garth was trying to fix his EMF meter, and Cas was beside Garth sifting through some of Bobby's papers they had kept in the car.

After a good half hour of looking, Dean was getting tired. He rubbed his eyes in irritation, "There's about a thousand things with claws that go bump in the night. You throw in invisible and the number goes down." He looked at the motel sign on the table beside him. "Afternoon delights? Really, Garth, don't you think this place is a little…"

"You want a nice hot tub after a day at the office." He was tightening something on his meter. "It's the little things." Sam and Dean exchanged looks behind Garth. "I feel sad for those brewery dudes. You spend your life beautifying the world through beer, then the first partner offs himself. Now two kids get ganked some unknown freak-adeek."

"According to this," Sam pointed to his computer, "Dale wasn't just a partner. He was also the brew master."

"Brew master?" Dean scuffed and closed the journal.

"He was widely considered a genius."

"All right that's it," Dean stood up from the couch. "No microbrew is worth, what was it," he walked past Cas, dropping Bobby's flask on the counter in front of him, "eight food magazine awards?" Garth's EMF meter started going off. Cas looked up and over at Garth. The hunter hit his meter a couple times. "Beer's not food, it's whatever water is."

"You mean a drink?" Cas had looked back to his papers when Garth's meter stopped.

"Yes," Dean set a bottle of Thighslapper in front of him, "smartass." Cas looked at Dean with a blank face, but his eyes sparkled. Dean gave him a small smile and set another beer for Garth and handed one to Sam. He then walked back over to stand by Cas and opened his beer. The others followed suit. After taking a good mouthful, Dean raised his eyebrows. "Wow, that's actually awesome. Dammit, I'm not even mad anymore."

The others tried theirs and they all agreed with Dean. Apparently, Garth really liked it, as he chugged the whole bottle in one go. The others watched him, slightly impressed. When he finished his bottle, he coughed a couple times. "Wow," Dean raised his bottle to him, "party on, Garth."

"I don't usually drink beer." Garth's eyes were half-lidded. "It messes with my depth perception." A belch escaped him before he continued. "Especially when I skinny dip." The three of them exchanged looks and Garth hiccupped. "Hey, you guys wanna hear a joke?"

"Listen to this," Sam ignored the other man, "this is something interesting." Garth then busted into a fit of giggles. Cas looked at him curiously, trying to get what was so funny. "Garth, are you drunk?"

"Dude, I just drank that whole beer. Of course I'm drunk." He belched again.

Dean closed his eyes. "Something interesting?" He prompted Sam.

"Right." Sam looked back at the screen. Cas turned away from the laughing hunter.

"Hey, can I have some more Thighslapper?" Garth pointed to his empty bottle.

The brothers answered in unison. "No."

"Coffee for you, Tara Reid." Dean turned back to his brother.

"So, it says that Dale actually left the company two weeks before he died. Or maybe he got pushed out 'cause he didn't want to sell? I mean, Baxter says the deal's been in the works for months."

"That would explain the widow. Marie told Cas and me that she's suing. Maybe Dale had a bone to pick and he's still picking it."

The police scanner on the counter by Garth then went off, reporting a murder at the McCann residence. "McCann like Jim McCann?" Sam asked.

"Let's hope that the spirit hasn't made it out of the woods." Garth set his shoulders in determination. "All right, let's check it." He pushed off the counter to stand.

"Yeah, you and Dean check that out. Cas and I can go talk to the widow." Cas looked at Dean and saw him giving Sam an angry look. Sam just smiled smugly at his brother.

"Fine. Let's go." Dean grabbed his coat and left with Garth.

"Well, the place is clean." Garth and Dean were standing in the entryway of the McCann house. "My EMF is a nada, so is this one." He held up the two meters.

"Is that mine?" Dean pointed to the right one.

"Yeah, I borrowed it in case mine broke."

"Oh." Dean shook his head.

"So, we still on the invisible werewolf?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I can't get Tess to talk," he nodded to the youngest daughter of Jim, "but I got a feeling she saw something."

"I'm gonna take a run at her."

"A what?" Dean sounded nervous about what that meant.

"Trust me. My special lady has twins." He turned to the living room with a smile.

"Special lady?" Dean followed Garth.

"Mr. McCann, is it alright if we speak to Tess alone for a minute? It could really help." Jim nodded and left them with Tess. Garth sat on the table across from her. "Hey Tess, you wanna tell me what you saw tonight?" She shook her head. "Or maybe you'll talk to," Garth lifted his right hand, which now had a grey sock puppet on it, "Mr. Fizzles."

He raised the pitch of his voice as 'Mr. Fizzles' talked. "I'm your friend. Yaaaaaaay!"

"Garth," Dean was definitely not going to listen to that for very long, "why don't we put the sock away."

"Mr. Fizzles wants to help Tess. He wants to listen."

"Mr. Fizzles is gonna go where the sun don't shine."

The puppet's mouth opened wide in shock and looked back to Tess. She was looking at it with wide eyes when she finally spoke. "It was a monster."

"I believe you, Tess. Did the monster have claws?" She nodded.

"How come you were the only one who could see it?"

She looked at Dean and shrugged. "What else, Tess?" She shrugged again. "You sure? 'Cause Mr. Fizzles can sense when you're being a liaaaaar."

"Alright, that's enough, Mr. Fizzles."

"I drank a grown up drink." Tess said it quickly, not wanting her parents to hear.

"Grown up like coffee?" She shook her head at Dean. "You mean alchohol?"

"It was an accident." She looked back at the puppet. "Don't let them arrest me, Mr. Fizzles."

Garth turned to look at Dean and gave him a satisfied nod.

Sam and Cas followed Dale's wife into her living room. "Your husband did a lot of traveling, huh?" Sam sat on the small couch next to her. Cas sat beside him.

"He went to a lot of exotic places for the best ingredients."

"We've tried his work."

"He did a very good job."

Sam smiled at the widow. "So, I hear you're not on the best of terms with Dale's former partners?"

"They sold his company out from under him. It's not about money. It was his baby, you know?"

"You sound very upset about it." Cas could read it on her face.

"I'm furious. I hate them. But then I think about how Dale was."

"What do you mean?" Sam leaned in a little.

"His friends left him behind, but do you know what he said? 'I'm gonna send them a gift to show that I forgive them.'"

"Do you have any idea what he sent them?"

"A bottle of sake from one of his trips." Sam remembered the box in the office at the brewery. "It was in a gorgeous box with writing. He was so careful, wouldn't let me touch it."

Sam and Cas thanked her and left for the brewery. Sam got his phone out to call Dean.

Dean and Garth were driving back in Garth's car from the McCann house. "So, kid in the woods sees something that nobody else does and Tess sees a monster that Jim doesn't. What's the thread?"

"Well, some mutants see infrared." Dean casted a sideways look at Garth.

A thought then hit Dean. "Grown up drinks. Tess chugged her mom's and victim number one was plastered."

"Right so, whoa a monster you gotta be drunk to see." He smiled at Dean. "Cool, also hard to fight."

Dean took a drink from Bobby's flask and felt Garth's eyes on him. He shrugged. "Just getting in the zone." He pointed at Garth. "You are strictly on wine coolers."

"Hey, I love those. I like anything sweet." He watched Dean take another drink. "So, what's with the dirty flask anyway? Lucky charm?"

"It's Bobby's."

"Really? 'Cause you think there's any chance that Bobby's riding your wave?"

"No, we gave him a hunter's wake."

"Yeah, I burned my cousin Brandon and he stayed stuck. And they have ghosts in India and they cremate everyone over there. It's just instinct, but maybe there is EMF around here. It just ain't the job."

"We're not gonna talk about this. Not in the middle of work."

"Sorry." Dean's phone rang. "I just hope that fire did the trick."

Dean answered, seeing Sam's number. "Hey Sam." He listened for a moment. "Yeah, got it. We're on our way." He looked at Garth. "Turn around, Garth. We're heading to the brewery."

Both cars pulled up to the brewery and the four of them exchanged the information they had gotten. Garth and Cas were staying outside to keep watch while Sam and Dean went inside to dig around a little.

They broke into Baxter's office and retrieved the box of sake. Sam opened the old box and took out the sake. The seal had clearly been broken and the jug was not full. "Someone's been sampling the goods."

"You don't say?" Dean looked up and saw a camera in the corner of the ceiling. "Check it out. God, I love paranoid people." He pointed to the computer on the desk. "See if you can get on."

Sam pulled up the chair. It didn't take long to get access to the camera feeds. "Alright, so the first death was what four nights ago?"

"Yeah, and Trevor McCann. Patient Zero."

Sam opened the file for that day and fast forwarded until Trevor appeared opening the box and taking a drink of the sake. "There's nothing there."

"Nothing we can see." Dean turned around, looking for some kind of alcohol. He found a couple bottles and glasses and placed them on the desk for Sam.

"Are you kidding?"

"Tick tock." He poured a full glass for himself.

"Can you even get drunk anymore? It's kind of like drinking a vitamin for you right?"

"Shut up."

They got to work drinking most of what they could find in the office. It didn't take long for them to be what they figured was drunk enough. Dean sat next to Sam. "Okay, party time. Rewind and go."

Sam started the video. When Trevor opened the jug, a girl in a white gown appeared beside him. She looked eerily like the kid from The Ring. "So, he must of released the thing out of the box and it just followed him to the place with all the thingies."

"Yes, yes," he nodded at Sam, "that's smart." Dean felt lightheaded. He leaned back, "I'm actually kinda drunk." He looked at the bottle he was drinking from. "What is this? Me likey." He poured another glass. "I miss these talks."

"What the hell?!" Randy was in the doorway, shock clear on his face. Dean spit his drink back into the glass.

"Oh, man." Dean set the glass down and looked at Sam who was at a loss for words. "Turn it off." He nodded to the computer. Sam raised his hands.

"FBI huh? Well, you can save it for the cops." He pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

"Wait, Mr. Baxter if you just listen, we can explain."

The sound of electricity made the brothers jump. Jim stiffened and let out a pained noise. He then fell to the ground with the prongs from a taser in his back. "Garth, I told you to wait." Cas pushed past the hunter who had just tased Jim and kneeled beside the unconscious man.

"What? He was gonna call the cops."

With some help, they got Jim into Garth's car. Garth drove back to the motel with Sam. Cas and Dean took the box out to find out what was written on the outside. They stopped by a local Asian restaurant and pulled one of the cooks out back to read the writing for them.

"It says, 'what you took will be taken from you.' Like eye for an eye. You with me?" Dean and Cas nodded. After reading a few more lines, he looked up warily. "Where did you guys get this anyway?"

"Why, is something wrong?" Dean had some coffee, trying to sober up a little.

"You're not superstitious are you?" He handed the box back to Cas.

Dean let out a laugh before shaking his head. "Not at all."

"No, of course not." Cas lied horribly, but the man bought it.

"Because, this says the bottle inside contains a shojo."

"What's a shojo?"

"An alcohol spirit. Look, it's just an old myth. I wouldn't worry about it, but they're not known for being friendly." Voices from inside the restaurant called to the cook. "I gotta go."

"Yeah," Dean dug in his back pocket, "here." He handed the cook a few bills for his help. "Thank you." They walked back to the car. "An alcohol spirit, huh? Guess that explains why you have to be drunk to see it." Cas agreed.

They drove back to look up more about the shojo. Dean called Sam on the way so he could start the research.

Dean and Cas entered the motel room ten minutes later. Sam was on the computer and Garth was outside doing some kind of yoga relaxation thing. Dean tilted his head and nudged Cas. He pointed to the strange man. Cas furrowed his eyebrows walked away with a shake of his head. "What is he doing?" Dean asked Sam.

"I don't know. He's been out there for a while." Sam ran a hand over his face.

"Where's Baxter?" Sam pointed to the hot tub, which was now inhabited by Baxter with a bag over his head. "Garth!"

Garth walked back in the room. "Garth, you have the CEO of the douchiest microbrew in the US gagged in your hot tub? You really think that's gonna end well?"

Garth narrowed his eyes. "I'm not feeling the love."

Dean turned to Sam. "What'd you find on the shojo?"

"It's said that they're supposed to roam where there is a lot of alcohol. There's lore saying that back in the day, if you were plastered enough, you could see one skulking around the breweries in Japan."

"Why is one shredding brewer's kids?"

"Apparently, you can harness the will of a shojo. With the right spell box you basically have an attack dog you can sick on any sort of personal revenge mission you want."

"So, Dale nabs one to punish his pals."

"It's in the bottle. Sooner or later it's opened and then you have a shojo that will do whatever it is compelled to do on the box."

"But," Garth sat next to Cas at the counter, "It's not killing the ones who betrayed him."

"Dale's widow told us that the company was basically his baby. So, if he wants to make them feel the way he felt…"

"He would take their kids, Jim's anyway."

"And Baxter was the godfather."

"How do we gank it?" Dean filled Bobby's flask.

"Good news, it is killable, but only with a samurai sword consecrated with a Shinto blessing."

Dean sighed. "Great. Well, the shojo has already almost cleaned house right? Marie is the last one standing. Cas and I can hit the pawn shops and look for the sword, you can babysit Marie, and Garth stay here to keep an eye on Baxter."

They nodded and were standing to leave when Garth dropped Dean's EMF meter. It started maxing out again. "Sorry." Garth didn't sound sorry at all.

Dean grabbed the meter from him. "Don't worry about it."

"Unless I've got nothing to be sorry for."

"Garth." Dean warned him.

"What's he taking about?" Sam closed his laptop.

"I'm concerned that Bobby might be haunting you. I brought it up to Dean and he shot me down."

"Garth, leave it alone." Dean warned again.

"It's okay."

"No, Sam, it's far from okay."

"I already tried contacting Bobby. When that beer disappeared a while back, I pulled out a talking board."

"Without me?"

"I figured, why drag you in when it's something that I could just put to rest myself."

"And?"

"And, if he was there I would have told you."

Randy groaned from the hot tub. Dean put his jacket on, "We'll talk about this later." Dean grabbed Cas's sleeve as he walked by, dragging him out the door with him.

They took the Impala to the nearest pawn shop. During the drive, Dean just stared out the front window. "Dean," Cas watched for a reaction but got none, "I saw the EMF go off last time too and the papers moving and the beer. I think Garth might be right."

"Stop, Cas." He closed his eyes. "I don't want to talk about this. Bobby is gone."

"Dean…"

"No." Dean cut him off. "Just…don't." The rest of the ride was quiet. They had a job to do.

It took a while, but they finally found an acceptable sword. Now they just had to get it blessed. That of course required them to go to a library and find a website with a correct blessing and printing it off. They then went back to the cook who had read the Japanese before.

He was reading the page as Dean unsheathed the sword. "It says that this needs to be done in a running spring."

"Yeah, I got it." Dean took out a bottle of water. "You good?"

"I'll do my best."

"Okay." He nodded to Cas, who held the sword up while Dean started pouring the water. The cook began the incantation. When he was finished, Dean gave him another small stack of bills and put the sword back.

He handed the sword to Cas when his phone rang. It was Garth. "Dean, Baxter's got a secret love child. The shojo might come for him first." He was speaking almost too fast for Dean to catch.

"Slow down."

"I'm trying to save lives here!"

"Are you drunk?" There was silence and a couple muffled curses. "Garth? You dropped the phone didn't you?" More silence. "GARTH!"

"Sorry, I'm here."

"Where the hell are you?"

"I'm in the brewery."

He was silent for a minute. "Garth?"

"Dean," he was whispering, "it's here."

"Okay, we're on our way." He hung up. "Get in the car." Cas did so quickly and Dean followed him while calling Sam. "Hey, are you good to drive?"

"Uh."

"Well, get a ride. It's at the brewery."

"What?"

"There's another kid. Don't think, move." He hung up and floored it to the brewery.

Dean and Cas ran through the doors of the brewery. They could hear shouting and crashing in the back. They ran down one of the hallways and ran into the employee that Baxter had been disciplining earlier. "Get back!" Dean pulled the sword out and started slashing through the air.

Cas kept the man behind him. He saw Sam laying on the floor a few feet away. Dean was kicked by the shojo and fell back into Cas, losing the sword in the process. The janitor and Cas where knocked into the wall and Dean fell to the ground.

The sword then flew across the floor, seemingly of it's own accord, and straight into Dean's hand. Dean and Cas shared a look of shock before Dean stood. Sam had woken up and sat up against the wall. "Get him out of here, Cas."

Cas grabbed the employee and ran for the door. Before they made it to the door, they were thrown across the room, smashing into the wall.

"Sam, where is it?" Dean slashed near the door.

"Swing right!" Dean did, hitting nothing. "My right." Dean turned, still missing. "Three o'clock, Dean." Dean missed. "Six o' clock." Dean turned and slashed, feeling a small hit. He then stabbed forward, leaving the sword lodged in the center of the shojo. The pale girl became visible to everyone before screaming out in death and disappearing. The sword clanked to the ground.

"You alright?" Dean asked the janitor.

"I'm alive." He stood.

"Sam."

"Yeah." He gave him a thumbs up.

"Cas." He bent down to help him sit up. He had a knot on the side of his head.

"I'm okay." He rubbed the spot where his head hit the wall. Dean helped him to stand.

"Where's Garth?" The janitor pointed toward the front of the brewery. "Could you get him?" The man left, followed by Sam. "Go on, Cas. I'll be there in a second." Cas nodded and walked after Sam.

Dean lifted the sword and turned to look behind him. He scanned the room. "This moved." He watched for any sign of movement or presence. "Bobby?" He waited. "Are you here?" He wasn't sure what he wanted more, for Bobby to be there or not. "Come on, do something."

Sam heard it before he saw him. Dean was asking for Bobby. He peaked around the corner of the hallway. Dean had the sword in hand and was looking around the room. He felt for his brother. Sam had had the same impulse, but Bobby wasn't here. He couldn't be.

They got back to the motel and Baxter was gone. Garth had given him the key to his cuffs. Garth packed up and took his bag to his car. "You sure you don't want to hang out, grab some brunch, maybe some brews?"

"Tempting, but we better roll."

"Alright, well…" He walked up to Dean with open arms and hugged him tight.

"Oh, okay." Dean patted his back lightly.

Garth pulled back. "Call me anytime."

"Alright."

"Sam." He shook his hand. "Oh, come here." Garth hugged him too.

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Garth."

He moved to Cas. "I can tell you're not much of a hugger, but…" He opened his arms and pulled Cas in close for a hug. Cas returned the hug briefly before pulling away. Garth waved and got in his car.

"You're right." Sam looked at Dean. "He has grown on me." They waved as Garth pulled out of the parking lot. "Alright, so let's talk about it."

"What? Oh, the talking board?" Dean frowned and turned from Sam. "It's fine. I get it, I guess."

"No, not that. Look, I heard you."

Dean turned back around. "Heard me what?"

"What happened in the brewery, Dean?"

He glanced at Cas. "Nothing, it was just my imagination." He walked back into the room. Sam and Cas followed.

"Dean," Cas got through the door first, "it wasn't your imagination. I saw it too."

"Saw what?" Sam shut the door.

Dean turned back and opened his arms in defeat. "The blade was across the room, then it was in my hand. My beer drank itself. Oh, and that page magically appeared on the bed. Then, when Cas was looking for a healer the news leading us to Gabriel popped up by itself on the computer. Nothing I'm sure."

"Clearly."

"Then what, Sam? Is Bobby here or not?"

"You know what I think, Dean? I think regular people, they see dead loved ones everywhere too."

"Yeah, freakin' ghosts."

"Or they just miss them a lot. They see a face in the crowd. We see a moving page. It's the same thing, Dean. I did the moving board, ran plenty of EMF. When that beer went poof, I went a little nuts."

"Why didn't you tell me or Cas?"

"Like I said, a little nuts at the time."

"Fine, but if it wasn't Bobby, what jedi'd that sword into my hand?"

"The shojo slammed a door from across the room. Maybe it was trying to grab the sword too."

"Right. If it was Bobby, he would let us know. Who knows more about being a ghost than Bobby? Instant Swayze, right?"

"Exactly."

"So, your theory is that we're reacting like regular people for once? Okay." He picked up his bag. "You sure you don't want some lunch and brews?"

Sam groaned. "No, dude, I'm so hung-over. I just want to hit the road."

"Okay." Sam left to get in the car. Dean started to follow, but Cas grabbed his arm. "What?"

"Dean, I think you're right about Bobby."

"Cas, Sam's right. We're just seeing what we want to see."

Cas shook his head. "If you were the only one to see it, maybe. I think he's here, attached to that flask."

Dean wanted to believe that. Deep down, he probably did, but Sam's explanation was less painful. "I doubt it. He would be around more if he was a ghost."

"Dean." Cas didn't understand why he had changed his mind so quickly.

"Cas, leave it alone." Dean silenced any further argument with a kiss. "Come on." He led him outside to the car.

They headed back to Montana for the rest they had planned on getting before Garth called.


	19. Chapter 19

Their rest and relaxation didn't last too long. Of course, two days was plenty of rest for them. A new case in Missouri caught their attention. They followed the strange deaths and bodies around the town until they met face to face with the witch responsible. After a short fight, in which Sam was hit with something, the witch got away and the boys were driving back to their motel to regroup.

"I told you, I'm fine." Sam rubbed the sore spot on his chest where the witch's spell had hit.

"No, you're not. She hit you with something." Dean felt the anger boiling inside at that bitch doing something to his brother.

"I feel fine, Dean." Sam shrugged. "Maybe it didn't work."

Dean looked at Sam with a critical eye. It had been half an hour since the spell hit him and he didn't look different. Dean shook his head. "Yeah, 'cause we always get lucky." Dean looked in the mirror back at Cas. "What did she say again?"

Cas had caught most of the Latin incantation she hit Sam with. But he was having a hard time remembering the translation exactly. "Something about remembering the past and the helplessness of younger years." He looked down. "I'm not sure exactly what will happen to Sam."

"I told you guys, I'm fine."

"We'll see." Dean parked the Impala outside their room. "Come on."

They spent the night looking for ways to find the witch again, Dean and Cas keeping an eye on Sam. At two o' clock, they called it a night, and with no visible changes to Sam even Dean was beginning to think maybe they had gotten lucky for once.

When Dean woke up, he had hoped everything would still be normal, but one look over at Sam's bed crushed all hope immediately. He didn't see the form of his large brother. He sat up, knocking Cas over and waking him. "SAM?" Dean thought maybe he was just in the bathroom.

Cas opened his eyes and looked frustrated at the rude awakening. "Dean?"

Dean pushed the covers down and scrambled out of the bed. "SAMMY!" He opened the bathroom door, revealing an empty room. His stomach dropped. A small whine made him turn back to Sam's bed. He saw the covers moving. "Sam?"

"What?" The covers flipped down as a small hand appeared.

Dean and Cas shared shocked looks. Dean moved closer to the bed, heart pounding. "Sam?"

"What, Dean?" He said in frustration. It was then that he seemed to notice how high his voice sounded. He raised his hands and felt his face while looking down at his body. "Oh my God."

Dean hadn't seen Sam's form because the Sam in the bed was the five year old that Dean remembered babysitting so long ago. "I'm gonna kill that bitch." Sam looked up and threw the covers off. She had been 'nice' enough to provide Sam with appropriate sized clothes, which he was wearing.

Sam moved to stand, his feet not even reaching the ground as they hung over the edge of the mattress. "Dean." He looked up at his brother with wide eyes. "What are we gonna do?"

Cas stood beside Dean. "Sam, do you remember everything?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "I don't feel different, just," he looked down at his small frame, "shorter."

"Okay, so what," Dean turned to Cas, "she made him a five year old with the same mind? Why would she do that?"

Cas thought for a moment. "Maybe that's how someone can feel the most helpless, by knowing how to do something but being unable to physically." He knew the feeling better than any of them.

"I can do enough." Sam huffed. Dean let a smile show as he looked down at his brother, something he hadn't been able to do for a long time. "What?"

"Sam, there's no way I'm letting you even leave the room."

"What?" He shrieked. "Why not?"

"Look at yourself. I can't worry about having to watch you if the witch attacks us."

Sam's face set in a glare. "I'm not actually a kid, Dean. I know how to protect myself."

"Oh, sure." Dean pulled his gun out from under his pillow and held it out to Sam. "Here, show me."

Sam grabbed the gun with determination, but almost dropped it from the weight. His eyes widened and he used both hands to lift it up. It shook in his hold. "See?"

"Yes, very terrifying. Now think of the kick back if you fire it. It would knock you on your ass." He took the gun back before Sam decided to show Dean he could do that too. "You can't hunt like this."

Sam let out a huff and crossed his arms. "Fine." He pushed past Dean and Cas, moving to the bathroom.

When the door shut, Dean laughed lightly. "This sucks. I'm gonna kill her."

"She could have done much worse, Dean."

"Oh yeah, turning Sam into a useless child is wonderful."

"He could be suffering in pain or dead. Be thankful that he's alive and still Sam."

He did have a point. He's seen witch handiwork before. He knew how bad it could have been. "How do we reverse it?"

Cas shook his head. "Kill the witch or make her fix it. She didn't use a hex bag so we have nothing to burn."

Dean nodded. "So, we need to find her soon. I remember Sam at this age. I can't take too much of it."

"He won't act the same."

"If he can't leave the room, he just might." Dean looked over as the bathroom door opened. Sam stepped out with a sour face. "What is it?"

"I can't reach the damn sink."

Dean laughed shortly. "That sounds so weird coming from that voice. Let me help you." Dean walked over and was about to lift Sam when Sam ran away from his grip.

"NO!" Sam kept a good distance from Dean. "I'm not a baby. Just let me get it." Sam looked around the room.

"Sammy."

"Sam." He glared at Dean as he walked to the small table his laptop was on. He started dragging the chair across the carpet.

Dean bit his lip, trying not to laugh as his little brother struggled across the room. When he made a move to help him, Cas put a hand on his arm. "Let him go. He needs to not feel so useless." Cas understood. Sam didn't want to be babied when he wasn't one. Dean crossed his arms and watched Sam pull the chair through the doorway.

When Sam finally got the chair against the sink, he crawled to stand on it and wash his hands. He gave Dean a smug look. "Congratulations, Sam. I think we all just aged a year."

"Shut up. I got it, didn't I?"

"I'm glad personal hygiene is so important to you, Sammy."

Sam ignored the last comment and dried his hands before hopping of the chair. He started dragging it back to it's place. Dean wanted to let him do it, but they needed to start worrying about other things. He walked over and gently pushed Sam aside. He lifted the chair and set it back by the table.

"We know the witch is setting up shop in town right? We need to figure out where exactly so we can kill her and end this."

"How are we gonna do that, Dean?" Cas asked as Sam sat in the chair and opened his computer.

"She was cursing people that had somehow personally offended her. Is there anyone else on that list?"

"Not that we know of."

"Well," Sam spoke as he typed, "she does have a business partner."

"Business partner?" Dean leaned over Sam to see the screen.

"Yeah, they own a small shop in town." Sam pointed to a picture of the flower shop he pulled up. "It's been open for seven years."

"So, they know each other well. She could probably tell us where to find her."

"What if she's a witch too?" Cas looked at the picture. They did tend to stay in groups or covens.

"Then we'll deal with it." He stood and grabbed some clothes. "Get ready, Cas." Cas nodded and moved to get his clothes. Sam pushed back from the table. "No, no." Dean lifted a finger. "I told you, you're not coming on a hunt right now."

"Dean."

"No, Sam. You're staying here." Sam opened his mouth to argue. "No."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't care. Just don't leave this room. We shouldn't be gone too long."

Sam sighed. They left a few minutes later. He tried to watch TV and do something on the computer, but he got bored quickly. He was worried and had no way to relax. This was too much like when he was little. Dean and his dad would leave him alone with no real entertainment. He used to sneak away and find fun, but at the age his body was in that would be stupid. Someone would think he was a lost child and call the police.

It was an hour before Dean and Cas came back. They were both a little beat up and angry. He could hear Dean yelling before he opened the door. "Fucking, bitch!" He slammed the door. "I had her."

"Dean, just be glad she didn't hit us with something like Sam."

"Yeah, I'm fucking celebrating!" Dean pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto his bed. He looked at Sam. "The partner was a witch. When we started asking questions, she attacked us."

Sam jumped off the bed where he was watching TV and ran to him. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine." Dean touched his bruising cheek. "We had to make sure she didn't follow us before we came back." He sat on the edge of the bed, Cas joined him.

Sam ran into the bathroom, bringing two washcloths out before going to the cooler of beer they brought with them. He filled both rags with ice and ran back to them. He handed one to Cas for his bloody knuckles before jumping up beside Dean. He pressed the ice pack to Dean's face. Dean hissed at the cold but didn't move away. "We'll find them, Dean."

Dean looked at his brother. This was too familiar. Sam would do the same thing when they were younger. He was always the one to patch Dean up or reassure him. Their dad would toss a bandage at them and tell them to clean up. Sam was the one who would give him the ice or the last of the gauze while he bled and winced in his own pain. Then it would be his turn to take care of Sam.

He covered Sam's small hand with his, taking the pack from him. "Thanks, Sammy." Sam sat down next to him and nodded.

Cas smiled at the brothers. He had a relationship like that with some of his brothers, they were gone now. Now he had to protect these two and make sure no more families were destroyed. "We can't wait too long, Dean." Dean turned to look at him. "They're gonna run."

"I know." Cas stood and pulled a small book out of his pocket. "What's that?"

He handed it to Dean. "I took it off of her when I had her pinned."

Dean dropped the ice pack and opened the small book. It was an address book with the victims names and addresses listed. The dead ones were crossed off. "You think they want to kill everyone in here?"

Cas shrugged. "Maybe. They could be helpful in finding them if nothing else."

"They could just be more witches."

"Don't we want to kill them all anyway?"

"True." He tossed the book back to Cas. "Alright, let's look these people up."

Dean took his laptop out and he and Cas did some research on the names in the book. Sam was working Dean's last nerve as he tried to keep looking over his shoulder. He kept pushing him back. "Dean." Sam stomped his foot. "This is the one thing I can still do. Let me."

"No." Sam growled in frustration. "This will be faster. Just go watch TV."

"Stop babying me, Dean."

Dean turned to face a pouting Sam. "I will not be responsible for anything that happens to you." They glared at each other for a minute before Sam turned and climbed onto his bed, turning away from them. Dean looked back at the computer with a sigh.

After a couple minutes, Cas whispered, "He could help, Dean."

Dean glared over the screen. "No, leave it alone."

Half an hour later, Sam had walked back over to the table silently and started dragging the free chair across the room. Dean ignored him, and Cas watched as Sam pulled the chair toward the counter. He stopped a moment before he got there, looking tired. He glanced at Dean like he might ask for help, but pursed his lips and turned to the counter.

Sam could reach over, but not the top cabinets where the food was. He was too stubborn to ask Dean to help. He tried to jump, but that wasn't gonna work. He pulled out the bottom shelf and stepped on it. It creaked and he jumped off. Turning back to the chair, Sam dragged it further. He had hit the wood floor, causing loud scrapes and squeaks as the chair moved.

"Good God, Sam." Dean looked up finally. "What the hell do you need?"

"Nothing!" Sam kept pulling the chair. "I got it." He climbed on the chair like he had in the bathroom and moved up to the counter. Dean watched for a moment before looking back to the screen. Sam opened the cabinets, looking for something to eat. The cabinets held a couple boxes of cereal and canned foods. He sighed and grabbed a box of cereal. The good food would require some kind of cooking or microwave and he couldn't reach those easily either.

Sam grabbed a bowl from a different cabinet and walked back to the chair with his arms full. He put a shaky foot out and felt himself sway. Righting himself, he looked back. Dean and Cas weren't paying attention. He tried again and almost fell. He overcompensated and hit the cabinets with his back. Dean looked up then.

"What are you doing?" Sam kept his face neutral and shook his head. Dean looked at the box and bowl. He knew the look on Sam's face. He was scared. "Just jump down, Sam. It's not that far."

Sam looked over the edge of the counter. To him now, it looked pretty far. He shook his head again. A small smile tugged at Dean's mouth. He stood up and walked to his trapped brother. He took the food from him, setting it on the counter. He was going to leave and let Sam climb down, but Sam reached out for him. Without thinking, Dean held Sam under his arms and placed him on the floor. He handed the food back to him.

"Thanks." Sam mumbled. Dean ruffled his hair, getting a slap on the wrist for it.

When they had a list of live friends, Dean and Cas packed up to visit them. Sam was still trying to convince them to let him come. "No, Sam. You can't even hop off a counter without help. How can I let you go hunting. Witches no less." They argued for a minute, but even Cas agreed that Sam would be better off there.

Dean started the Impala as Cas sat down. He drove to the first girl's house. She was alive and told them where the first witch lived. She didn't know them very well. They then drove to the witch's house, hoping to find both of them inside. "Let's do this so we can get Sam back." He opened the trunk, Cas beside him and nearly had a heart attack when someone jumped out. "Dammit, Sam!"

Sam stood with a knife in hand. "I'm helping you, Dean."

"The hell you are." Dean tried to grab the knife but Sam moved away. "How did you even get in there?"

"I can help."

"NO!"

"Well, I'm here and you can't keep me in the car. I'm coming whether you like it or not."

Dean knew this was a bad idea. He crouched and looked at Sam. "You stay in my sight at all times." Sam nodded. "If I can't see you for even a second…"

"I get it."

"Good." He stood and picked out a few weapons.

"Dean," Cas leaned in close, "we can't take him."

"We don't have a choice." He faced him. "Watch him. Don't worry about me. If he gets hurt, you grab him and you run. You understand?"

Cas nodded. "I won't leave you either, Dean."

"You take Sam and you run." Cas nodded again.

"Understood."

The three of them snuck in the back of the house. Someone was home, judging by the music and clanking of dishes. Dean and Sam split off in one direction while Cas went the other way. Dean kept a hand on Sam's shoulder in front of him, ready to pull him back if needed. Voices from the kitchen carried to their current position.

"They came in looking for you. What was I supposed to do?"

"Well, they got the book from you. It won't take them long to find us."

"Please, we can take them."

"Maybe, but what if we can't."

The voices lowered now. Dean glanced around the doorframe. The two women were close, too close to be just friends. "Why don't we just leave then?" The woman from the shop pulled the other close. "Go somewhere new. Maybe by the ocean like you always wanted."

She pushed her away. "We have to deal with these hunters first, and the few people here that still have something coming to them."

Dean and Sam entered the kitchen. Dean with his gun pointed at them, Sam with a raised knife. "Sorry to break up the love fest, but I got a bone to pick with you."

The women turned to face them. The one that cursed Sam laughed. "Oh, isn't he adorable?"

"Shut up." Dean pointed the gun at her. "Change him back."

"Or what?"

"I thought it was obvious."

She looked at his gun. "You think I'm afraid of you and your gun?"

"You should be."

She laughed again. "Please." With the flick of her wrist, Dean's gun flew out of his hand and across the room.

He grabbed Sam and pulled him to stand behind him. "Like I need that to kill you bitches." They both smiled. Dean saw Cas make his way quietly into the room. "No, I could kill you both with just my hands." Cas raised his gun. "Or maybe less."

A shot rang out and the witch from the shop screamed and fell to the ground. The other woman turned as Cas lined a shot for her. Before he could fire, she tossed him through the wall. Dean dove for his gun and fired, just missing her. She kicked the gun out of his hands.

Sam threw his knife, but without the power of his adult arms it wouldn't have hurt much if it had hit her. She deflected it and pushed Sam back to the hallway with a wave. Dean scrambled to his hands and knees only to be kicked in the ribs by the witch. She pulled him up and pinned him to the wall with her powers.

Cas stumbled back into the room. The witch he shot was bleeding on the floor, dead. He took out his own knife and charged the remaining witch. She was surprised enough to be taken down. Cas brought his knife down, but she held his wrist. She was stronger than him. He pressed forward, baring his teeth.

Sam ran back in and picked up his knife. Dean was struggling against her hold and Cas was an inch away from stabbing her. Sam knelt beside her head and placed his knife against her throat. "Let them go."

She loosened up on Cas. He didn't stand though. He kept the knife against her chest, over her heart. Dean fell loose from the wall, immediately getting his gun and pointing it at her. "Get him out of here, Cas."

"Dean." He looked up.

"Do it."

Cas stood up and beckoned Sam. "Come on."

"No, I'm not leaving."

Dean gave Cas a look. "Sam." He shook his head.

"Cas, take him and go." Without another word, Cas scooped Sam up and took him outside. Sam protested and pushed Cas the whole way. "Reverse the spell."

"Why? You'll just kill me anyway." She looked at her fallen partner. "Just do it. I don't have anything left anyway."

Dean thought maybe it was a trick of some kind, but he didn't question it long. He aimed and fired. He checked both of them before he left. They were dead. The sound of heavy footsteps made him look up. A full grown Sam came busting into the room calling his name. He saw the dead women and stopped. "Good to see you, Sam."

Sam nodded and looked down at himself. "Yeah, we good here?"

"Yeah, let's go."

They drove back to the motel after taking care of the bodies. Sam made something from the food they had left from Dean's run a few days before and the three of them sat to eat. "Well," Dean sat back in his chair, "I never thought I would have to babysit again. Now I know for sure that I never want to."

"I wasn't that bad. I was only a kid for a day."

"And I still wanted to strangle you."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You're such a drama queen."

"You're saying you don't want a family at some point?" Cas looked at him.

"I have a family, Cas. You and Sam are my family."

"Yes, but did you ever want more?"

Dean looked at Sam briefly. They had had this conversation a couple times. "Not really. I had that with Lisa and Ben and look how that turned out." He shook his head. "Look at today. Even with Sam having his adult mind, his small body made him weak. Kids require constant watching and protection. We can't really provide that and if something were to happen," he looked down at his plate, "it's just better to not drag an innocent kid into this."

Cas could understand but his eyes looked a little let down. "I guess that makes sense."

"Even if I did want that, we can't have kids, Cas." He smiled. "They don't have the technology for that."

Cas's smile looked forced. He knew of ways, only possible with some help from Heaven or Hell. It wasn't something he had given much thought to before becoming human. Now, he had strange feelings when he saw kids with their parents. He knew what it was now: envy. He knew it wasn't possible for him and Dean to have a biological child, but he wanted that. He wanted a family. But, he knows he won't have it. Dean and Sam are enough though.


	20. Chapter 20

The three of them had been working a some small jobs the past few weeks. They were spending the night in a motel in Nevada when Dean's phone rang. He checked the caller ID, "Annie, nice surprise, how've you been?"

"Still kickin'. So good I guess. I heard about Bobby. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, us too. What's up?"

"I got some of his old books. I figured you'd want them."

"Yeah sure. We're you at?"

"Bodega Bay. Crow's Nest Inn."

"You workin'?"

"Always. You boys anywhere nearby?"

"Near enough."

"Good. Why don't we meet at the Pier Front restaurant, lunch?"

"One o' clock?"

"Yep, bye."

Dean hung up. "What's up?" Sam asked.

"Annie's got some of Bobby's books and wants to give them to us." He stood to start gathering his stuff. "She's in California."

"Who's Annie?" Cas stood to help Dean pack.

"An old friend. We've helped each other on some cases."

Sam was putting his computer away across the room. He looked at Dean with a small smile. "You know she and Bobby had a thing right?"

Dean froze mid-move. His eyebrows knitted together. "Yeah," he looked back down at his bag, "yeah, I knew that." His face looked confused. He shook his head and turned to Sam. "Really?"

"Yeah," Sam smiled, "kind of a foxhole thing, very Hemingway."

Dean nodded and glanced at Cas briefly before turning back to his bag. "She and I kinda went Hemingway this one time too." Cas looked at Dean. Dean avoided the look.

"Okay well," Sam sounded strange. Dean looked at him. "That happens." When Sam met his eyes, he gave a guilty look.

"What, you too?"

"It was a while back. We ended up on the same case. She was stressed. I didn't…have a soul." He grimaced.

Dean turned away. "That's a lot of foxholes." He saw Cas shaking his head out of the corner of his eye. He saw a smile too.

The next day, they were waiting at the restaurant for Annie. It was 1:30. Cas looked around the room. "Is Annie usually late?"

Dean shook his head. "No, never. She's totally compulsive." He dug his phone out of his pocket. "I'm gonna try her cell." After a couple failed attempts, he put the phone away. "She's not answering." They waited a couple more minutes. Dean dropped his menu on the table. "Are we being stood up?"

Sam checked his watch. "Let's hope that's all this is."

They left the restaurant. Dean tried calling again as they walked to the car. He flipped his phone shut. "Straight to voicemail."

Sam shook his head. "What was she doing in Bodega Bay?"

"Working some kind of job. She didn't really say." Dean took Bobby's flask out and took a drink. He shook it. "I need a refill."

"You know, why don't you just pack it away for a while? All it does is remind us of Bobby."

Dean looked at the flask. "I thought about that," he slipped it back into his pocket, "but not yet." He walked around the front of the car. "Come on, let's check out Annie's hotel room."

Once they got to her room, they searched through the papers she had laid out for her current case. Sam was sitting by the window looking through a stack of the papers. "These go back years. Disappearances never solved. They stop a few decades back, then pick up again just recently. All teenagers."

Dean and Cas were sitting on the bed. Dean had a few pages in his hand. "Looks like Annie found out where a lot of them like to poke around before going missing." Dean stood to show Sam, Cas followed. "Old Van Ness house." He set the page down for Sam. Cas read the page over his shoulder. "It's cheery."

"But the police combed the place. It always turned up dry."

Dean walked past Cas and sighed. "The law: always on the ball."

Movement caught Cas's eye. The curtain beside him swayed slightly. He almost dismissed it, but they didn't have any windows open. He straightened and reached a hand out. He didn't feel a breeze.

"It's just sitting there. It's been boarded up for ages." Sam flipped through the pages on the house.

Cas looked around the room for something that could have moved the curtain. But, maybe he was just being paranoid. He moved his hand around the window again.

Dean saw Cas and furrowed his brows. "What is it, Cas?"

Sam turned. He hadn't noticed what Cas was doing. Cas shook his head. "Nothing. I thought…it's nothing." He moved away from the window and sat on the bed.

Sam looked back at his research. "Huh, a few months back someone put the house on one of those Most Haunted Houses in America lists."

"Let me guess, that's when all the teenagers started going missing?"

"Yep."

Dean nodded. "Let's get rolling." He moved toward the door, Sam right behind. Cas stood to follow. Dean stopped him by the door. "You okay?"

"Of course."

"What happened?" He pointed to the window.

Cas shrugged. "Nothing." He stepped around Dean and out the door. "Nothing at all."

Cas might have gotten better at lying, but Dean could still hear the difference. He let it go, knowing it couldn't have been important if Cas shrugged it off. He grabbed his jacket and left.

The old house was creepier than it's picture gave it credit for. The walls seemed to watch them as they entered. Cobwebs and dust covered every inch of the room. Making their way up the stairs, Dean dialed Annie's number. Sam's EMF meter was blaring at a constant rate. "We've definitely got something."

Dean nodded and called Annie's phone. "Annie." He called out to the empty house. Ringing could be heard down the hall. They moved toward the sound. Her cell phone was on the floor of the neighboring room. Dean crouched to pick it up. He looked through her call history. "The call to me was the last one she made. So where the hell is she?"

Over the next twenty minutes, they looked through every room trying to find Annie. She was nowhere to be found. Sam's meter was still screaming non-stop. "We're red-lining all over the place. Assume the worst?"

Dean nodded. "Always do."

Cas moved his flashlight down the hallway to his left. "So, you think there are angry spirits?"

"Yeah," Sam moved the meter in front of him as they walked, "lots of them. They're probably killing the kids that come in here." He shook his head as he looked around. "But, look at this place. There's no blood, no bodies, nothing."

Dean had Annie's phone to his ear, listening to her messages. "Well, if evil is partying in here, it sure has a hell of a clean up crew." He stopped and raised a hand. "Wait."

"What?"

"Here's something." Dean put the phone on speaker and played one of her messages. It wasn't clear, but the EVP was definitely there.

"What's that from?"

"I don't know." Dean showed them the caller ID. The numbers were just asterisk symbols. "You ever seen a number like that?"

Sam and Cas shook their heads. "So, a spirit called Annie?"

"Sometimes," Sam turned to Cas, "ghosts try to reach out in any way they can. It probably just connected to the phone when she got close."

"Let's see if we can find anything else of Annie's." Dean started down the hall. "Or anyone else." Sam and Cas followed.

They entered a larger room with a bar on one side a few minutes later. "Well, that is every square inch of this place. No bodies, no pieces of bodies, and no Annie. Whole lot of sizzle and no steak."

"Maybe no news is good news." Sam moved his flashlight around the room.

Dean turned to him. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, maybe she's not here. Maybe she's still okay."

"What does your gut say?" Dean knew what had probably happened and he knew that Sam did too. Even Cas hadn't expected to find more than maybe a body after they found the phone.

Sam turned off the EMF and sighed. "Let's just go see if there's anything else in her research."

They headed out to the car. Dean took out Bobby's flask and took a drink. "Where did Annie get her intel, do we know?"

"Uh, Bodega Bay Heritage Society." Sam showed Dean a page with the name printed on it.

"That's our next stop then." Dean started the Impala and drove off.

During the drive, Cas started feeling strange. He had a weird feeling that someone was sitting next to him in the back seat. The hair was standing on his left arm. He looked to his side. There was nothing there. He had a guess of what it was, but he didn't want to voice it. Instead, he leaned forward to talk to Sam. "Can I borrow your EMF meter for a minute?"

Sam reached in his jacket. "Sure, why?" He handed it over.

"I just want to see something." He sat back and extended the antenna. He flipped it on and the meter started going off. He moved it to his side and all the red lights were on and it was blaring. Sam had turned to look, Dean was looking in the rearview mirror.

"What's doing that?" Sam looked at Dean.

Dean shook his head. "It's probably nothing. Just residual stuff from the house."

"What? Dean…"

"Just turn it off, Cas."

Cas did. Sam looked concerned when he turned back in his seat. The rest of the drive was quiet. The feeling of not being alone in the back didn't leave Cas.

They entered the Heritage Society and was talking with one of the guides. "The house dates back to the mid nineteenth century. Miles Van Ness made his fortune in the gold rush. Eventually settling his family in Bodega Bay."

"Anything unusual ever happen in the house?" Sam asked.

The guide shrugged. "Over the course of a century, things are going to happen in a house. Some locals swear it's haunted."

"Who is this man?" Cas pointed to a picture on one of the displays.

The guide pointed. "Whitman Van Ness, only son and heir. Handsome, charming, and dogged by tragedy all his life. He lost the family fortune and then the house. It became a bordello. He lived in isolation until his death at age forty."

Dean pointed to another picture. "Who's the bruiser there?"

"Dexter O' Connell. A convict, an extremely violent man. Mr. Van Ness was socially progressive and took pity on him. He worked as groundskeeper. Dexter was convicted of murdering Whitman's fiancée on the eve of their wedding. Another calamitous event in the poor man's life."

"Well," Dean looked at them. They had gotten the information they needed. "Thank you." They turned to leave when the man spoke again.

"The house is popular this week."

Sam stopped. "What do you mean?"

"A lady came by the other day asking all sorts of questions."

"30s, red hair, good looking?" Dean asked.

He nodded. "I gave her the same advice I'll give to you. Stay away from the place. It's extremely unsafe."

They nodded and thanked him again as they left.

Back at the motel, Dean was taking a shower while Sam and Cas looked through more research, some of it their own. Sam called through the bathroom's open door. "So, aside from Whitman's fiancée, Dexter was also convicted of killing a bunch of hookers who worked at the brothel. He escaped before they could hang him, but he returned to the house where he was found shot to death."

Cas was standing by the bathroom's doorway. "Why would he go back after escaping being hanged?"

Sam shrugged and Dean answered from the shower. "I don't know. Add that to a list of things I don't know."

"What's our next move?" Sam put the papers back on the table.

The water stopped in the bathroom and Dean's arm appeared to grab his towel. "I don't know."

Cas turned his head slightly to watch as Dean stepped out of the shower, his towel around his waist. He gave Cas a wink as he grabbed his clothes and got dressed. He ran his hands through his hair and glanced over at the mirror. He stopped and stared at the steam covered glass. "Cas, Sam."

"What?" Sam walked over and Cas stepped into the bathroom with him.

Dean pointed to the mirror. "Please tell me one of you wrote that."

The phrase 'Annie trapped in house' was on the mirror like someone wrote in the steam with their finger. Sam and Cas shared a shocked look and shook their heads. "No, we didn't do that."

Dean looked around the bathroom. "Who's there?" No answer. He raised his voice. "I said, who's there!?"

The three of them looked around the room. Cas remembered the curtain and the feeling in the car. They all jumped when the hot water handle for the sink turned itself on. Steam quickly rose over the mirror, covering the original words, and new letters were being drawn on the mirror. A 'B' then an 'O'. Soon a name was on the glass.

"Bobby?" Dean read and asked the open room. There were no more responses.

"So, Bobby is here." Cas walked up to the mirror. He turned to Sam and Dean. "He was in the car with us. I felt him. And earlier I saw the curtain move and there wasn't an air moving around it."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Would you have believed me?" Dean looked at Sam. "The EMF meter was going off in the car and you still refused to believe it. I tried to tell you weeks ago, when Garth was around, that I thought Bobby was here." He pointed to the name on the mirror, which was quickly fading. "Do you believe now, Dean?"

Cas was right, but Dean hadn't wanted to accept that Bobby was still hanging around. Sam spoke, wanting to stop the tense moment between the couple. "The first message: Annie trapped in house. She must have been killed there and her spirit is trapped. We need to go back."

Dean nodded, glad for the change in subject. "Yeah, let's go."

They grabbed a few weapons and reentered the house. "We already combed this place and found nothing."

"Maybe something didn't want us to find it." Sam turned on his flashlight.

"Good, let's walk right into that." Dean led them through the main door before they split off a little and called for Annie. "Annie, it's Sam and Dean." Dean stopped when a camera slid to a stop at his feet. "That's not weird at all." He crouched down and picked it up. "Sam, Cas, come here."

They ran back quickly. "What is it?"

"Check this out." Dean opened the small viewing window on the camera and played back the tape. A couple of teenage boys were talking into the camera about a couple of friends before walking into the house. "I hate these indie films. Nothing ever happens."

They were panning around a room when the footage flickered. "Wait, pause it." Sam thought he saw something. "Frame back."

Dean went back a couple frames and stopped when Annie's blurry face appeared on the screen. "She's here, and not in a good way."

They all turned in circles calling for Annie, hoping she could communicate. When they turned back, a woman appeared before them. "Whoa!" They brought their guns up and the woman put her hands out.

She was young and beautiful with long dark hair. She was in a purple dress that looked like it was from the early twentieth century. "Please, I'm Victoria."

"Where'd you come from?"

"Here. I was a fancy lady."

Dean thought for a second. "A hooker?"

She looked away, offended by the title. Sam lowered his shotgun. "Is Annie here?"

"Yes." Dean and Cas lowered their weapons and looked around. "You can't see her." Dean pointed his flashlight down at his feet. "No, you're not standing on her." She then looked to her side like someone was talking to her. "I will. In my day we believed in polite conversation." She looked back to them. "Annie's in terrible danger. We all are."

"From?"

"Whitman Van Ness."

"But he's dead."

She looked back. "I thought you said they were good?"

"Hey," Dean looked between the wall where she was looking and back at her, "we're just processing here, okay lady? You're dead, he's dead. Define terrible danger."

"Whitman has great power over all of us in the house. He killed Annie. She says that you can free us." Her voice cracked a little. "Please, you must…" She cut off in a scream and busted into flames. Her voice faded out and she was gone.

"Victoria?"

Dean turned to them. "I'm gonna say she was telling the truth, considering she just got ghost killed."

"So, Whitman Van Ness?"

He nodded. "At least we know who's bones to salt and burn."

Back in the car, Sam took out his laptop and searched for Van Ness' burial site. It didn't take him too long. "Here we go. Cemetery right at the edge of town. Van Ness family has it's own mausoleum."

"Alright, we'll light up the bastard and finish him off."

After finding out that Bobby was a ghost at their side, Cas had initially ignored the feeling of someone next to him, but he felt a presence now that was different. He couldn't figure out how different.

The Impala rumbled as it picked up speed. Sam looked at the speedometer, Dean was quickly approaching 90mph. "Dude, slow down. We'll get there."

"Uh," he sounded freaked, "that's not me."

Cas looked up and Sam and Dean shared scared looks. Then the wheel started jerking in Dean's grip. As the car swerved all over the road, a man appeared between Sam and Dean in the front. He looked like the man pictured as Whitman. He was turning the wheel and fighting Dean for control.

His foot stomped over Dean's on the gas pedal, hurling them at 100mph down the road, bouncing off the railings. Cas held the back of Sam's seat to avoid being tossed around in the back. Dean pressed the brake down with his free foot, finally stopping the car.

All three of them jumped out of the car. "Why is he still with us?" Sam slammed the door shut behind him.

"I don't know. There must be something on us." Dean was searching his pockets for unfamiliar objects. Sam and Cas did the same.

"Hey." Sam pulled out an old key from his jacket. He looked at it before going stiff and yelling in pain.

"SAM!" Dean ran forward and snatched the key from his hand.

Cas walked around Sam, not seeing anything that was hurting him. He held Sam's arms, wincing when Sam grabbed back with vice like strength.

Dean dropped the key and shot it with his gun. Sam stumbled forward and would have fallen if not for Cas holding him up. Dean checked him over quickly. "Did that do it? Is he gone?" Sam was breathing heavily as his pain faded.

"I don't know. I think we just snapped him back to his favorite house."

"Where Annie is a sitting duck."

"We gotta find his bones. Come on." They got back in the car and drove quickly to the mausoleum.

They found his spot in the mausoleum and opened the coffin. They burned him quickly, not wanting to give him any time to go after Annie. It was all over now.

Dean drove back to the house. If Annie was still there, maybe she could talk to them now. They entered the house for the third time.

"Hey boys."

They stopped at the familiar voice. Bobby was sitting on the floor beside the stairway. "Bobby?"

His eyes widen in surprise. He stood up slowly. "You can see me?" The three of them stood with open mouths. "You're starin' you know?" He looked to the side. "Annie's here too by the way."

They looked around before all speaking at once. "Hi, Annie."

Bobby pointed over his shoulder. "She says you two look uglier than she remembers." He smiled.

Sam laughed lightly. "Bobby, how did you stay here?"

He walked over to a drawer by the door and pulled out his flask. He tossed it to Dean as he walked. "Suck on that, Swayze."

Sam's face fell in realization. "That's why you never answered me. I tried calling you, the talking board, the works, but I was alone. Dean always had that thing in his pocket. That's why the EMF only went off half the time. We thought we were going crazy."

"I tried giving you hints, but Cas here was the only one who even noticed half the time. I was ready to slap all of ya."

They all smiled. Dean shook his head. "What happened? Did you get stuck, or…"

"I wanted to stay."

"Bobby…"

"I needed to help."

Sam leaned against the doorframe. "Not if it means you have to be this."

"Life wasn't comfy. Why should death be?" He turned to the side. "Come on, Annie and I found the bodies. We can put them to rest." He pointed to Dean's hand. "And keep my damn flask away from the fire, would ya." He took a few steps before turning back. "Well, you comin'?"

With a nod, the boys followed Bobby to the bodies. They burned them all in turn. Annie was last. They then headed back to the car outside. Bobby was looking back at the now empty house. "I'll miss her."

Dean nodded. "Me too."

Sam sighed. "Yeah."

"Well, you two didn't know her like I did."

Cas bit back a smile as the brothers shifted uncomfortably. Dean took out the flask and unscrewed the lid. "Here's to Annie." He lifted it up. "She got the hunter's funeral she wanted." He took a drink and the others bowed their heads. "Kind of like the one we thought we gave you."

"Dean." Sam warned.

"What were you thinking, Bobby? You could be in Heaven right now drinking beer at Harvelle's, not stuck."

"Stuck here with you?" Bobby shook his head. "We still have work to do. I just thought that was kind of important, Dean."

"It's not right. You know that."

Bobby narrowed his eyes. "Sorry, you're right." He looked at the three of them in turn. "What was I thinking?" With a flicker, he was gone.

Dean dropped the flask in the trunk before moving to the driver's seat. They drove silently for a while. Cas could feel Bobby's presence beside him, but he didn't mention it. Sam finally said something. "What do you think we should do?"

"We did what we should do. Now I don't know."

"Do you think it's possible that we could make it all work somehow?"

Dean shook his head. "I have no idea. Maybe. I've never heard of it. But, you know what I do know? That ain't the natural order of things. Everything is supposed to end. He was supposed…" He stopped and shook his head again. "Now, what are the odds this ends well?"

Cas looked sympathetically at the empty seat next to him, knowing Bobby was there. He shared Dean's opinion slightly, but he knew Bobby could also be very helpful in hunts. His presence and knowledge could also be nice for them. That was not even considering that it was Bobby. Someone they all admired and considered family.

He made his choice to stay and deal with the consequences just like Cas had. He didn't want Bobby to feel bad for his decision. If anyone could work with a ghost successfully, it had to be the Winchesters.


	21. Chapter 21

The three of them had spent the last few days back in Montana trying to figure out what exactly Dick has been doing. They know he has been funding archaeological digs everywhere, but they wanted to know why. Cas had suggested asking Bobby to see if he had any information but the ghost hadn't reappeared since the Van Ness house incident.

Sam and Dean were calling contacts to see if maybe they knew anything more about it than them. Sam hung up his phone as Dean entered the living room. Cas was on his laptop doing research.

"So, Nora didn't see any patterns in the Dick sites either." He sat on the couch and opened his laptop.

Dean sat beside Sam. "So we've got nothing. I searched local lore 50 miles in every direction of all of them. It's just old dirt." He opened Bobby's flask and took a drink. "What is Dick looking for?"

The lights flickered around them and all three men stood up and drew their weapons, not knowing what to expect. They turned and were met with the sight of Bobby standing behind them.

"Hey, go easy you idjits." They all lowered their weapons and sighed. "Sorry for the jump-scare."

"How does this work? I leave the cap off," he motioned to the flask, "and you just genie your way out?"

"I wish it were that easy. The thing is…" Bobby's body flickered and disappeared.

"Bobby?" They all looked around the room for a moment.

"Dammit!" Bobby reappeared by the front door. "It's hard to stay focused. I'm still a little worn out."

"You've been pretty busy for a dead guy."

"Alright, listen. I don't know how long it will be before my next ghost nap so let's just skip to the skinny. Those numbers I gave you."

"The empty lot in Cheeseville."

"It ain't gonna be empty for long. I got a gander at Dick's big plan before he Lincoln'd me. They're breaking ground in…" he looked at Sam. "What month is this?"

"April."

Bobby looked disappointed. "Ground's broke. They're building as we're yammering. Check it out yourself." Sam sat back at his computer and went to the Geothrive Inc. website. The company was owned by Dick. "It's okay. You boys missed it because you've been a little busy killing ghosts the past couple days, but Dick is about to get into the Soylent Green business.

"That site will show you that they're building a biotech lab right? Biotech my ass. That lab is a state of the art slaughter house and we're the beef."

"Don't you think that's a little bold, even for Dick?" Sam looked through the plans. Dean and Cas looked over his shoulders.

"I bet you no one will even notice. 'Cause first, he's gonna dumb us all down with Turducken style munchies to make us all docile."

Dean and Cas shared a look as they remembered their little Turducken night of high flying. "We haven't been to a Biggerson's since that whole fiasco."

"Biggerson's? He's bought a list of joints ten pages long. Next, he's gonna cure us."

"Cure us of what?" Cas asked as he moved back to the couch.

"All the biggies: cancer, aids, heart disease. Let's just say, they have an affinity for stem cell research."

Dean sat on the arm of the couch by Cas. "You remember those leviathan realty douches? Said they were gonna cure cancer."

"They're not hunting anymore. They're engineering the perfect herd. Now we've gone up against plenty who like to eat a few folks in the woods. This ain't that. This is about knockin' us off the top of the food chain. This is about those levi's livin' here forever one per center's style while we march our dopey, fat asses down to the shiny new death camps down at every corner."

As the words sank in for the boys, they realized how screwed they really were. How would they stop something this big, something on such a national scale? Just killing Dick may not be enough to completely stop their plans.

A blip from Sam's computer made them jump. He had gotten an email. Sam opened his messages. "I've got an email from Frank."

Dean straightened and leaned toward the laptop. "Frank's alive?"

"That jackass is always stealing my thunder." Bobby crossed his arms.

Sam read off the message. "Sam and Dean, if you're reading this I'm dead." He looked at the rest of them. They had thought as much. "Or worse. This message was sent because some princess is trying to hack into my hard drive at this second. So, unless it's you, you've got trouble. My drive is full of compromising info: your aliases, hangouts, where you stored your car."

"Good thing I didn't leave it there." Dean didn't want to think about those monsters getting to his car.

"Even though he encrypted the crap out of his drive, he says we should assume that someone could hack into it eventually. He even put a tracking device in it." Sam clicked on the link provided for the tracker. A map popped up and zoomed in on Chicago. "Let's see where Frank's drive is."

Sam double clicked on the location given and an address and name popped up: Richard Roman Enterprises. "Perfect," Dean said sarcastically, "it's in the middle of the Death Star." He stood up. "Alright, off to Chicago."

"Whoa, wait." Bobby put his hands up. "You can't just break in, they know your mugs." He had a sudden thought. "What if you mailed in the flask? Then, I could ghost my way around. It's not like Dick can kill me twice." Sam and Dean looked doubtful. Cas considered it. "You guys got a better plan?" Sam and Dean weren't convinced. "Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I don't know how to do my damn job."

"Bobby," Sam looked at his computer as he spoke, "that's Dick's office."

"What Sam's trying to say is," Dean put his jacket on, "what happens if you run into Dick and go vengeful? You know that's not something you can just shake off."

"Come on, Dean. Give me some credit." He looked at Cas. The former angel hadn't thought about Bobby possibly losing his calm ghost status. Maybe it was better he stay away. "What, I'm supposed to just ride the pine?"

"Sorry, Bobby." Sam closed his computer and stood up.

Cas stood to follow them. "I'm sorry."

Bobby deflated as the three of them packed up and drove off for Illinois.

They had been waiting for about half an hour in the hacker's apartment when they heard the front door open and close. They were about to reveal themselves when her phone rang. "Hey, Pete sorry I left without telling you. No, I just wasn't feeling well it's uh…lady thing. I'll be in first thing. Gotta go, cramps."

She put her phone away. Something caught her attention from Dean's direction and she ran for the door. He intercepted her, slamming the door shut as she pulled it open. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Get away from me you," she looked around for something. She picked up a display sword on her right, "shapeshifter."

Sam stepped up behind her and Cas appeared on her left. "We're not shapeshifters." She gasped at their sudden appearances and swung the sword and hit Sam. The crappy display sword snapped in half.

Dean grabbed the sword out of her hands and threw it on the ground. "We're not leviathans, okay?" Charlie backed up to the wall, terror on her face. "Want us to prove it?" Dean pulled a jug of cleaner out of his jacket. "You know what Borax does to 'em?"

Charlie nodded. Dean dumped some of the cleaner on his hand, Cas's, and Sam's. He held it out for her. "Your turn." She took it and did the same. "Good."

She looked a lot calmer now. "Who the hell are you guys?"

They were sitting in Charlie's living room after explaining who they were and what they did. "You guys are monster hunters? So, there are other monsters out there?" They were about to respond. "No, you know what, I don't wanna know." She shook her head and moved to sit at her desk. "Okay, I get how you found the drive: straight GPS, but it's still at the office. How did you find me?"

Sam opened his laptop, that he had brought it, and showed her the streaming video from her webcam that Frank had attached to the email. She threw her hands up. "Uh, the son of a gun jacked my webcam?"

"Welcome to Frank."

"That's creepy, but I'll give it to him." She looked at the three of them with worried eyes. "So, everything on his drive was true?"

"That and more." Dean confirmed.

Sam put a hand out. "Wait, how long did it take you to crack Frank's hard drive?"

She shrugged. "A day or so."

He raised his eyebrows. "Is there anything you can't hack into?"

"Not yet."

"How about Dick Roman's email?"

"Why would I…Oh, he's one of them."

"No," Cas shook his head, "he's their leader. The oldest one."

"What's the endgame? Resources? Make us some slaves?"

"Planet-wide value meal." Dean smiled grimly. "We're the meat."

She laughed. "You can't be serious." One look at their faces and her smile fell. "Okay, alright," she opened her computer, "let's do this. What am I looking for?"

"For starters, anything to do with archaeological dig sites."

"Like Indiana Jones stuff?"

"All we know is that Dick is digging all over the world and we need to know what he's looking for."

She typed as Dean was talking. She shook her head. "You know, I was having a really good week. I met someone, downloaded the new Robin album, everything was coming up me." She lifted her fingers. "Oh, crap."

"I know." Sam thought she was upset about her life taking a weird turn. "We get that it sucks."

"No, that not. This," she pointed to the keyboard, "Dick's email isn't on the company server, it's a private one, in his office."

"Meaning?"

"You can't get in it unless you have his phone or you're at his desk."

"So you're saying, if we're inside Dick's office, we could hack into his email?"

She smiled. "You can't. Only someone like," she stopped as realization dawned on her, "but I sure as hell ain't doin' it. I am doing my job and…" She paused. "What are the chances that I see everything on that drive and Dick lets me live anyway?"

Sam gave her a sad smile. "I think you know."

Charlie swallowed visibly and nodded. "So, I erase the drive first, protect me and you. Then I go back to my old life right?"

"It's not that easy." Dean leaned forward. "You're on Dick's radar. You don't have a normal life anymore."

"I'm gonna die." She furrowed her brows. "I should have taken that job at Google."

"Look, Charlie," Sam stood with his laptop under his arm, "It's okay if you can't do this. You didn't volunteer for this."

"Totally," she pointed at Sam, "exactly." She looked like she was fighting an internal decision before she nodded. "But, now I volunteer."

The boys were surprised and turned wide eyes to the hacker. "What?"

She sighed. "I gotta go back in anyway to wipe Frank's drive. I might as well break into Dick's office too."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but these things are gonna eat everyone I know. What kind of douchebag stands by for that? However," she lifted a finger, "I have never broken into anything in real life before so, plan?"

Dean liked this girl. He stood. "You got a Bluetooth?"

"Yeah."

"Security system, can you get into that?" The boys sat at her table with her as they went over the plan.

"I can reroute any of the security cameras we need."

"Let's start with that."

They figure out the game plan for the rest of the day. That night, the boys were in a surveillance van outside the building as Charlie waited outside the doors. She was using her Bluetooth to communicate with them.

Sam was at the computer, Cas was sitting beside him to help keep an eye on the cameras, and Dean had just gotten back in the van. "How's it goin'?"

"Great, since she set this up." He was on her computer. "Look," he brought up the security cameras, "I can put each of these on a prerecorded loop. I do that, she'll have fifteen minutes."

"That's not a long time." Cas was concerned that she would be caught and then taken to Dick.

"No, she said if it took her longer than that, she deserved to get caught."

Dean nodded. "I like her." Dean watched her on the camera as she paced in front of the door. He noticed something in her bag. "Wait a second." He looked closer at the screen. "Son of a bitch."

"What?" Sam and Cas looked at Charlie.

"Look at her bag."

Sam paused her image on the camera and zoomed in on her bag. Bobby's flask was in the side pocket. "Bobby. You think he hitched a ride?"

"After we told him to cool his jets? Yeah." Dean ran a hand over his face. "The hell is he thinking?"

"He's not. What do we do? Call the whole thing off?"

"We're only gonna get one shot at this." Charlie's voice came through Dean's phone. It sounded like a song Dean had heard a few times. "Charlie, are you singing?"

"I sing when I'm nervous. Don't judge me."

Dean smiled. "Judgment free zone. Listen, check the side pocket of your bag."

She pulled the flask out and took a drink. "Thank you. Good idea."

"No problem. That is a family heirloom, a luck charm. Don't lose it."

She put it back in her bag. "Copy that." She took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

They watched her on the screen. She was standing in the same spot with wide, scared eyes. When she didn't move for a little, Dean picked up his phone. "Charlie." She didn't move. "Charlie."

"I'm having a hard time moving."

Dean dropped his head. "You can do this."

"I'm not a spy. I can't, I don't…" She was pacing. "I can't do it. I can't."

Sam took the phone from Dean. "Charlie, it's Sam."

"I'm sorry, Sam. I'm sorry. I just…"

"It's okay. Listen, who's your favorite Harry Potter character?" Dean gave Sam a strange look. Now hardly seemed like the time for a question like that.

"Uh, Hermione."

"Hermione. Well," he thought back, "did Hermione run when Sirius Black was in trouble, or when Voldemort attacked Hogwarts?"

"Seriously?" Dean didn't know what his brother was trying to do. Sam shushed him.

"No, of course not."

"What did she do?"

"She kicked ass." Sam smiled and nodded at Dean, who was starting to get the idea. "She actually saves Harry in practically every book and then she ends up with the wrong…"

"Stay on track. So, she kicked ass. What are you gonna do?"

Charlie took a breath and gathered her courage. "I'm gonna kick it in the ass."

Sam smiled. "Good girl."

Charlie nodded and walked into the building. Dean gave an impressed look and took his phone back. "Way to go, Dumbledork."

They watched the cameras and waited for Charlie to appear in the elevator. Cas had been thinking about something since Sam mentioned it. "You know, Hermione was my favorite too."

Sam and Dean turned to look at Cas. His face was serious. "There she is." Dean pointed as Charlie appeared on screen going up to the fourth floor. When she exited the elevator, Sam started the loop of the empty elevator footage. Charlie should have been getting back on the elevator to go up to Dick's floor. They would have to wait for her to contact them.

"I'm in." They sighed in relief. "I've always wanted to say that."

"You're on the clock, move."

It was silent as Charlie made her way to Dick's office. They didn't expect her to contact them much as she worked. They jumped when she did, "Hey, there's a big ass guard blocking the door. What do I do?"

"Wait him out."

"He's not going anywhere."

"Okay, you work there everyday, do you know the guy?"

"I guess. I've seen him, but I don't know him."

"You've seen him. Does he look at you or does he just kind of slide his eyes by?"

"Uh, eye contact. I don't know, he kind of smiles a bit. I don't really…"

"Good, you're gonna go up to him and you're gonna flirt your way past."

She sighed. "I can't. He's not really my type."

"You're gonna have to work through that."

"As in he's not a girl."

"Oh," Dean looked at Sam and Cas for help, they shrugged, "Oh, uh, pretend he has boobs."

There was silence for a moment. "Worse."

"Well," Dean wasn't sure what to do really. "Do you have any tattoos? Give him a little sneak peak. All tattoos are sexy." Dean glanced at Cas for a second, remembering the relatively new tattoo.

"Mine is Princess Leia in a slave bikini straddling a 20-sided die." Dean tilted his head in confusion. "I was drunk. It was Comic Con."

Dean nodded. "We've all been there." He moved away from Sam and Cas's curious looks. "Okay, I'll talk you through this." He waited for her to breath and walk through the door. "Start off with a smile. You just got home and Scarlett Johansson is waiting for you. He could hear the guard lightly in the background. He told Charlie to repeat what he said.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"Hey, Bill. Charlie from IT."

"Burnin' the midnight oil huh?"

"Just like you. I mean, when you're not at the gym. What, do you work out with all your free time?"

"I try to go to the gym at least three days a week. Just trying to get back to my fighting weight."

Dean said, "It shows. You look amazing." Sam turned to look at Dean. His brother sounded a little too genuine with his 'flirting.' "This never happened." Cas was biting back a smile. "You do anything else in your free time, like take a girl out for a drink?" Sam covered his mouth as a laugh escaped. "Stop laughing, Sammy."

"Stop laughing, Sammy." Oh crap. Did she say that too? "Um, you don't know that bar? Stop Laughing Sammy? That place is bringing sexy back which is easy 'cause they kept the receipt."

"Stop talking, Charlie!"

"Stop talking, Charlie, right." Dean closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. "So, you were saying about going out, drinks?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." The guard sounded a little thrown but happy to accept.

"Cool, pencil that in. Can I ask you a favor? The ladies room downstairs is nasty. Can I use the exec bathroom to powder my nose?"

He sounded hesitant. "Yeah, sure why not? It's down the hall. First door on the right."

"Thanks." She headed to Dick's office. "I feel dirty."

Dean opened his eyes. "You and me both, sister."

"The eagle is landing. Starting radio silence."

"Let us know when you're out."

"So we just wait?" Sam asked.

"Yeah."

After a couple minutes of silence, Sam started filling jars with Borax in case they needed to go in and get Charlie. Dean and Cas watched the cameras and waited for Charlie to contact them.

Dean leaned back. "This is awesome. New plan: let's just stay in the van and send in the 90 pound girl."

"Dean, every chomper on Earth knows our faces." Sam put the lid on a few jars. "How many do you think are in that building? We'd never make it past the lobby."

"I know. That doesn't mean I gotta be happy about sending in Veronica Mars."

"We needed her, Dean." Cas was watching the screens. "Only she could hack Dick's files."

"I know, I know."

"She'll be fine."

"Or we'll go in." Sam added.

Dean looked at them and nodded. "And get as far as we can. Damn right."

"Hey, guys?" They all jumped and Dean grabbed the phone.

"Hey."

"Sending you all the flagged Dick files now."

Sure enough, the files were loading onto their desktop. "Charlie," Sam smiled, "you are a genius."

"I know. It's a problem." They heard some shuffling and a curse from Charlie. "Hey Pete. I guess we both have deadlines, huh?"

"How's it going?"

"Good. I'll give you a full progress report in a few hours."

"Great. Gotta hit that deadline right? Holler if you need anything."

"Hey, you still there?"

"Yeah, who the Hell was that?"

"Just my manager, the monster."

"Leave."

"I can't. I gotta act normal. I told him I was working, let's just finish this." The emails opened on both computers. "Are you seeing this?"

Sam read through one quickly. "According to this, Dick stopped digging days ago."

"Why?"

"I guess he found what he was looking for. Can you check?"

"Way ahead of you." Clicking buttons sounded over the phone for a few seconds. "Here we go. Something in a suitcase left Iran last week. Whatever it is, it's coming here for Dick tonight. What is it?"

"I don't know." Dean wanted that package. "But he wants it, so we have to nab it, end of story."

"It's landing in a private airport near here in, crap, right about now."

"When's the exact landing time?"

"Forty-two minutes. Can you make it?"

"We can try. One more thing, Charlie, then get the Hell out of there."

"What do you need?"

"More time."

"Let's get you some." She started typing. "Travel department is emailing Dick: suitcase is still en route but deferred by weather. Will be thirty minutes late." They voiced their thanks. "I'll just finish getting you guys off the drive and get out of Dodge."

"Call us when you're clear."

Dean and Sam went in in disguise while Cas waited by the car. They did a quick switch with Dick's suitcase. He would be opening a timed bomb of Borax in a few minutes. They headed back with Dick's prize and drove back closer to the office building to wait for Charlie.

They were standing by the trunk with their case. "Now what?" Sam asked.

"Let's see what we won." Dean opened the case. The contents were covered with tan cloth. He pulled the cloth back and revealed a block of red dirt.

"Did we just steal a hunk of red clay?"

"That's a good question." He closed the case and put it in the trunk. "Where's Charlie?" It had been a while and she hadn't called yet. He tried calling her and got no answer. "I don't like this. She should have been done by now."

They headed to the office building and saw Charlie trying to open the glass doors. She was locked inside. "Oh no." A man ran up behind her as the glass doors cracked. He flew into her and she hit the wall. They could see Dick walking toward her.

Dean looked at the other two. "You guys ready?" They nodded.

With a running start, the three of them jumped through the glass doors. Dick only looked a little surprised at their presence. "Dean," Charlie called from the floor. She motioned to the man beside her. "He's one of them."

Dean took out a container of Borax and threw it on the man. A security guard was advancing on them and Cas knocked him out with a punch. Sam ran back and picked up Charlie.

"That would explain it." Dick was sneering a few feet away. "You're hanging out with the wrong crowd, kiddo." He started towards the group.

They all backed away as the leviathan got closer. Dick was then sent flying back into an ad display. They only had to wait for a second to see who had done that. Bobby appeared where Dick had been standing.

Dick sat up against the display with a smile. "Alright, enough, show yourself. Let's do this like real monsters." He tried to stand and was pushed back roughly to a sitting position. He laughed. "You gotta do that again. That tickled."

"Guys, come one." Sam was walking out the doors with Charlie. Dean and Cas followed quickly as Dick stood up.

Sam put Charlie down when they reached the car and they drove off fast. "Charlie, you okay?" Dean looked in the mirror as he drove.

"No," she was in the back by Cas, holding her injured arm, "why didn't you kill him?"

"We can't yet." Sam looked back at her. "We will."

"The really evil ones always need a special sword." She made a few pained noises. "Okay, I'm gonna pass out now." She started leaning toward Cas. He let her lie on his lap as they drove her to the hospital.

Charlie had a broken arm, but they fixed her up and the next morning she and the boys were at a bus station. She was getting out of town. "I left your dumb flask in the backseat, by the way. Worst good luck charm ever."

Dean handed her her bag when they reached the bus. Sam smiled and thanked her. "We can't thank you enough."

"Actually you can. Never contact me again, like ever. Deal?" She held out her left, good, hand.

"Deal." Sam shook her hand. Cas did the same.

Dean shook her hand. "Keep your head down out there, okay?"

She shrugged. "This ain't the first time I disappeared." At their looks, she smiled. "You think my name is really Charlie Bradbury?" She started moving backwards. "So, good luck saving the world." She held up her hand in a Vulcan salute. "Peace out, bitches."

They watched her get on the bus and take off. Dean turned to the others. "She's kinda like the little sister I never wanted." Sam and Cas smiled.

Sam started toward the car. "We need to talk."

"Before we get back to the car and the flask?" Dean figured they would have to talk about Bobby.

"Exactly. So what the hell happened back in the lobby, Dean?"

"I don't know. If I had a free shot, I would have bitch slapped the hell out of Dick."

"Yeah, but Charlie got her freakin' arm broken." They had talked to Charlie and she had said that Pete had been almost thrown into her. They assumed Bobby did it while getting to Dick.

"He didn't mean to do it."

"Exactly. He's not in control. Not around Dick. That was vengeful spirit crap."

"I know, but it's still Bobby."

"If he goes there, he won't be anymore and then we won't be able to pull him back. Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Dean," Cas was standing by Sam, "I thought Bobby would be a help to us in there, but after what happened I don't know anymore. He's losing his humanity, Dean. You know that this will happen anyway, eventually."

Dean sighed. He knew they were both right. He just really didn't want Bobby to become the next thing they had to hunt. "How about we just figure out what that clay is first and then we'll figure out what to do with Bobby."

They all silently agreed on this and headed back to the car. They drove back to the Montana cabin with the clay cube. Dean left Bobby's flask by the front door next to the case with the clay. They would start looking into it in the morning.

Dean and Cas went to their room. Dean kicked off his shoes and landed on the bed with a thud. "Well, at least we got a puzzle piece and Frank's hard drive out of the way."

"Yeah." Cas took off his jacket and shoes before sitting on the bed beside Dean. "I hope it helps us finally stop them."

"It should. If Frank's info was dangerous enough to make Dick nervous, he had to know a lot. We'll look it over tomorrow."

Cas nodded. He wanted to talk more about Bobby, but Cas was always nervous as to whether or not Bobby was in the room with them. He let a hand graze over Dean's. A finger twitched in response. His eyes met Dean's and he leaned over him, forehead resting on Dean's.

They stayed that way for a few breaths. Dean was the one that pushed up and sealed their lips together. He held Cas's hair and pressed a hand into his back.

Cas put a hand on his chest and kissed back. "So," he pulled back a little, "tattoos are sexy, huh?" Cas smiled.

"Hell yeah they are." Dean pulled Cas's shirt off and ran a finger over Cas's tattoo. Cas pushed down and kissed Dean again. Dean held him close and rolled them over. He pulled off his shirt and straddled Cas. He ran his hands up Cas's chest and kissed him again.

Dean shifted a little on Cas's lap while opening the other man's jeans. "So, Cas," he leaned back over him once he had his jeans open, "you've ridden me enough times," he kissed Cas, "maybe it can be my turn."

Cas trembled slightly at the thought. "Dean."

"Would you like that, Cas?" Dean whispered in Cas's ear. "Is that what you want?" Cas shivered and pushed up against Dean. He rolled his hips over Cas. "Say it." Cas let out a noise in the back of his throat. "Come on, Cas. Tell me."

"Dean…" Cas held the back of his head and thrusted up against him again.

"You gotta tell me what you want, Cas." Dean smiled into his neck as Cas's grip tightened and hips moved.

He let out a shaky breath and put his lips by Dean's ear. "I want you," he stuttered as Dean pushed down on him, "to ride me, Dean."

They kissed with more force and soon their remaining clothes were off and Cas had a few fingers in Dean. Dean was pushing back on them and moaning. "Fuck, Cas." His hands were on Cas's chest. "Okay, I'm good." He knelt up to position Cas's dick.

"Are you sure?" His voice was weak, he really didn't want this to stop but he wanted Dean to be ready.

In answer to Cas's question, Dean pushed down on to Cas. He moved slow, feeling the slight burn as he was stretched more by Cas. Cas had his eyes shut and his hands on Dean's hips. When fully seated, Dean waited a few seconds to adjust. Cas pushed up slightly, wanting Dean to move.

"I know." He lifted up a little and pushed back down. Both men moaned lightly. Dean did it again, a little harder.

A few thrusts later, the bed was creaking and they were moving in quick, hard thrusts. Cas pulled Dean down for a rough kiss. The new angle made Dean cry out as Cas hit his sweet spot. He pushed back against Cas even harder.

Cas held Dean's head close, breathing hard and growling his name. Dean braced himself on the mattress and kissed Cas, tongue working to fuck his mouth as he thrusted back. Cas's grip pulled him impossibly closer.

Dean broke the kiss and caught his breath. He nipped at Cas's ear and traced his tattoo with a finger. Cas moaned and thrusted into Dean quickly a few times. Dean's hand moved down over a nipple and he sat up.

Cas arched into his touch. He smiled and anchored himself on Cas with both hands so he could really move. Cas really made noise as Dean slammed down on him and ran his thumbs over Cas's nipples.

His legs were beginning to protest from the movements. He leaned down to kiss Cas and relax his muscles. Cas locked his arms around Dean's neck and bit his lips when Dean scraped a nail briefly over his nipple.

He freed a hand from Dean's neck and reached down to grab Dean's leaking dick. Dean moaned from the contact. Cas worked quickly to send Dean over the edge. When he did, Dean bit Cas's neck to muffle his cry.

Dean's muscles tightened around Cas and with a couple more thrusts he came in Dean with moan of his name. As Cas relaxed, Dean stroked his hair and kissed him and kissed his tattoo. He rolled off Cas and pulled the sheets up over them. They were both tired and quickly fell asleep wrapped together.


	22. Chapter 22

Cas woke sometime early the next morning. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the sunrise. He was alone in the bed as his mind cleared from his sleepy haze. Eventually, he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the mattress and stood up. As he made his way to the kitchen, he heard Sam and Dean talking in hushed voices.

"He made a lot of fuss over a caveman lego." Dean had the block of clay they had stolen from Dick on the table. Sam was standing beside him.

"Yeah. Are you sure you want to do this now?"

"Why not?"

Sam's answer was cut off when he saw Cas shuffling into the room. "Hey, Cas."

Dean looked up. "You're just in time. We were about to bust open Dick's block here and see what the fuss is about."

Cas yawned and nodded. He should've know that by morning, Dean had meant 5 AM. It didn't seem like either brother slept much at all anymore. Dean handed him a pair of safety glasses after he and Sam put on their own. Cas stood beside the table as Dean raised a hammer over the block.

Dean struck the corner of the clay square to no effect. A loud crash of thunder sounded above them. They all shared a look. Lightning flashed outside, lighting the room briefly. "Was it even cloudy earlier?" The others shrugged. Dean raised the hammer and struck again.

A clap of thunder sounded at the exact moment Dean hit the block. Lightning followed soon after. Dean looked around warily. "Does that sound like someone saying 'no, don't, stop' to you?"

Sam shifted nervously. "Uh, yeah." Cas nodded.

"Yeah," Dean looked down at the clay, "oh well." He lifted the hammer again. He hit the block repeatedly, thunder following every hit. The clay was beginning to chip apart and crumble.

Soon a black tablet was revealed from inside the clay. Dean picked it up and turned it over. There were markings covering it. Sam leaned in close and looked it over. "What the hell?"

Cas took off his glasses and moved close to Dean's side. One look at the tablet and his eyes widened in recognition. He grabbed the block from Dean's hands. He ran a hand over the writing carefully.

"Cas, what? Do you know what that is?"

"Yes." Cas's heart thumped loudly in his chest. "It's the Word."

"The Word?" Sam's eyes widened. "The Word of God?"

Cas nodded. "One of them, yes."

"What the hell does Dick want with the Word of God?"

Sam moved to stand on the other side of Cas. "Can you read what it says?"

Cas squinted his eyes before shaking his head in defeat. "No. This is the writing of Metatron. Only a select few can read it."

"Metatron?" Sam had heard that name before.

"He's an angel, the scribe of God. He took down dictation when Creation was being formed."

"Okay," Dean sat in the available chair to his right. "So, Dick started digging all over the earth to find this, why?" Cas looked at him. "What good is it if no one can even read it?"

"I said a select few could read it." Cas handed the tablet to Sam and sat in the chair by Dean. "When the Word of God is revealed, a keeper of the Word will awaken."

"A keeper?"

Cas nodded. "It was actually my garrison's job to find the keeper if this ever happened. I would imagine the orders haven't changed."

Sam turned to them. "Meaning, we're gonna have angels and a keeper to deal with on top of leviathans?"

"Yes."

"Super." Dean stood.

"Cas," Sam put the tablet on the table, "how long will it take the keeper to get here?"

Cas shrugged. "It depends on how far away he lives. The angels won't be far behind."

"Alright," Dean clapped his hands, "we need to angel proof the house now. We can deal with this keeper whenever he gets here."

The three of them set to work on painting angel-proofing over the whole cabin. Once that was done, they got ready for the keeper to show himself as they waited.

Sam was on his computer in his room after a few hours of nothing. He was checking to see if anything strange that had happened could lead them to the keeper. Dean and Cas were watching the tablet as it sat on the table open and ready for someone to take it.

Dean had fallen asleep on Cas's shoulder by the time it grew dark out. Sam and Cas were beginning to think this keeper wasn't going to show tonight.

"Maybe we should just call it a night?" Sam rubbed his tired eyes and yawned.

Cas nodded in agreement and elbowed Dean. "We can keep the tablet hidden until tomorrow." Cas stood, dragging Dean up with him.

Sam went to his room as Cas walked a half-asleep Dean to their room. As Cas pushed the now fully-asleep Dean onto the bed, he heard a soft thump from the other room. He peeked through the doorway, Sam doing the same from the other side of the room.

"Did you hear something?" Sam stepped into the room. Cas nodded and checked for the tablet. Sam had done the same and they shared confused looks when they found it was gone. "Dammit!" Sam ran to the front door and pulled it open. "I see him!" He took off into the night.

Cas ducked his head into his room long enough to wake Dean. "Dean, the keeper had the tablet." He saw Dean shake his head and sit up before he followed Sam outside.

The young boy was fast as he darted in zig zag patterns through the woods surrounding the cabin. Sam did his best to keep the kid in sight, but he kept tripping as he tried to change directions quickly. He thought Cas had been right behind him but he didn't see the man anywhere. Sam nearly landed face first in the grass when the boy made a sudden circle and turned back the way he came.

Thinking Sam was the only one after him was his mistake. Dean and Cas had been following Sam. When they saw the kid doubling back, they split up and waited behind a couple trees.

When the boy ran past them, Dean jumped forward, reaching out to grab the back of his jacket collar. Sam slowed to a stop when he saw Dean and Cas. The kid kept struggling to run. Cas moved to stand in front of him in case he did manage to escape.

"Please, let me go." The boy, who couldn't be more than 17, was holding the tablet against his chest tightly. "I'm sorry, please."

"Sorry, can't do that." Dean secured his hold on the boy's arm.

Sam stood next to Cas, catching his breath. "What's your name?"

"Kevin Tran. Please don't kill me." He looked terrified.

"We're not gonna kill you." Sam stepped forward and tried to pull the tablet from Kevin's arms. It didn't budge. Sam pulled harder, Dean holding Kevin back, and they still couldn't make Kevin let go.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why." He looked close to tears. "I can't let go of this."

They all shared looks before heading back to the cabin with Kevin in tow. They sat him at the small kitchen table while they pulled up a couple chairs nearby. "Kevin," Sam leaned forward in the chair, "how did you know to come here?"

Kevin shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is," he looked at the item in his arms, "this is for me. I'm supposed to keep it."

"But you don't know what it is?" Kevin shook his head. "Look at it."

Kevin hesitated, eyes shifting between the three of them. Finally, he loosened his hold on the tablet and looked at the ancient writing. He squinted and lifted the tablet closer. "It's writing."

"Yes." Cas said. "What does it say?"

Kevin's brows furrowed. "What's leviathan?"

"What?" Sam stood up. "Is that what it says?"

"I think. It hurts to read. Like looking through someone else's glasses." His fingers traced the symbols as he read. "It says something about leviathan and how it came to be. God locked them up far away, like in jail, because they're so..." Kevin looked up at Sam. "They're real aren't they?"

"Yeah, they are and they're here." Sam didn't see the need to sugar coat anything for him, knowing that angels would be after him soon. "Does it say anything about how to kill them?"

"I don't know. It's not like reading reading. It's hard to focus on it too long."

"Just try. It's really important."

A loud crash made everyone in the room jump. The front door was blown off it's hinges. A suited man and woman stepped through the doorway: angels. Sam moved in front of Kevin while Dean and Cas covered his back.

The blonde woman looked at Sam. "Step away from the prophet."

Kevin was shaking. "What? Me?"

She looked at Kevin. "Soul keeper of the Word we are here to take you."

"What do you mean, take?" Kevin stood from the chair and moved back closer to Dean and Cas.

She turned to the other angel. "Kill them." As the man advanced on Sam, Cas pulled him back and slashed his old angel blade, cutting the angel's palm.

White light shot from the wound as the man stepped back. Everything stilled when the angels finally looked at who had used the blade. The woman stood with wide eyed shock and the man smiled. "Castiel?" The light faded from his hand. "You're alive."

He nodded. The woman didn't look as pleased to see him. "Hello, Hester."

She moved in closer to him. "You smote thousands in Heaven, gave a big scary speech, and then you were gone." She raised her voice. "What the hell was that?!"

"I'm sorry." There was hardly ever a day when the deaths of his brothers and sisters didn't haunt him.

While the others were talking, Dean had pulled out his pocket knife. He didn't know if this would work, but he had to try.

"Where have you been?" The man looked truly concerned.

"Inias, Hester, I wish I could make you understand. Nothing I could say would satisfy you."

Hester shook her head. "You've fallen, Castiel. I don't see any grace in you."

He nodded. "I have."

Dean had finished the banishing sigil on the table. It wasn't big, but he hoped it still worked. He lowered his hand and in a flash of light Inias and Hester were gone. Sam and Cas looked back, not knowing what had happened.

"I'll be damned." He smiled at the other two. "Okay, we need better angel protection, angel warding so they can't get in here again." Cas nodded and started gathering the paint. Dean looked at Sam. "I'll take the keeper here downstairs so he can read the Word."

Kevin was clutching the tablet again and taking short, quick breaths. Dean could tell he was panicking. "Come on, Kevin." He led the teenager downstairs. "We'll get you something to eat a little later okay?"

Kevin stopped by the bottom of the stairs and took in the strange basement. "This looks like a sex torture dungeon." Dean started clearing the table of their different monster weapons. "Is this a sex torture dungeon?"

"No," Dean turned to him with a blade in hand, "this is not a sex…just, get over here and read." Dean slid a chair over to the empty corner of the table.

Kevin sat down, placing the tablet on the dirty table. He took a few long breaths, trying to calm down. "So, these leviathans, monsters, are real?"

"Afraid so." Dean dusted off another chair. He wasn't going to let Kevin out of sight.

"And angels?"

"Yeah." He put his feet up on the opposite end of the table. "So, on the God Rock." He pointed to the black square. "Does it happen to say anything about how to kill Dick?"

"Uh," he looked down, "I don't know. It kinda seems like an In Case of Emergency note." He looked back to Dean. "What did the angel mean by prophet?" Dean opened his mouth to answer. "I don't want to be a prophet."

Dean smiled. "No, you don't."

Cas appeared down the stairs. "Angel proofing is up. They won't be able to enter the house now." He moved to stand beside Dean.

"Who were those two angels? You seemed to know them pretty well."

"I told you. My garrison was given the orders to collect the keeper when he awoke. They were a part of my old garrison. Hester seems to have taken over. We were supposed to take the keeper to the desert to read the Word away from men."

"I can't go to the desert. I'm applying to Princeton." Kevin was beginning to panic again.

"Calm down," Dean tried to use a soothing voice, "no one is taking you to the desert." He looked at Cas. "We need him to decipher the Word so we can kill Dick."

Cas shrugged. "Until the orders are fulfilled in some way, the garrison won't stop."

"Awesome."

After a while, Cas had gone back upstairs. Dean stayed with Kevin as he translated what was written on the tablet. Soon, Kevin began to panic again. He stood up and was taking quick breaths. "Kevin." Dean had almost fallen asleep when the panicked noises snapped him up.

"This is all too much. What's happened to my life? I'm just a kid from Michigan. I didn't want to be a word-keeper." As he hyperventilated, Dean stood up and dug out a paper bag from their supplies. "I'm not prepared to factor the supernatural into my world."

Dean put the bag opening over Kevin's mouth, wanting to prevent him from passing out. "Okay, there we go." He patted his back lightly. "That's it." Kevin's breaths evened out. "Just breathe, take it easy."

Dean walked back to his chair as Kevin relaxed. He could sympathize with the kid. Almost everyone he had run across in his life had felt the same way. "I don't know, man. What can I say? You're chosen and it sucks, believe me." Kevin took the bag away from his mouth. "There's no use asking 'why me?', 'cause the angels don't care. I don't think they have the equipment to care."

Dean thought back to Anna, who had fallen because she cared or wanted to feel. Then later she had gone all psycho-Glenn Close on their parents and Sam. Now, Cas was human because he cared about Dean. He always defied everything he was supposed to be because he wanted to protect him and his brother. Look where he ended up. And of course now there was Gabriel. A freaking archangel that took on Sam's Hell seemingly because he cared enough about Sam to not want him to keep suffering. Dean couldn't imagine what he was like now.

"It seems like when they try it just breaks them apart."

Kevin shook his head. "I just want to be the first Asian-American President of the United States."

Dean nodded. "Then do your homework."

Kevin swallowed the lump in his throat and picked up the pen he had been using to write the translation.

It had been quiet for a good twenty minutes when a couple loud bangs caught Dean's attention. He ran upstairs after telling Kevin to stay put. He put his hands out when Sam and Cas turned to face him in the living room. "What's going on? What is that?"

"The angels."

"What?" He looked at Cas. A loud crash rocked the house.

Cas yelled over the assault. "They can't enter the house, so they'll destroy the house to get in."

"Can they do that?" Cas gave a look that read 'obviously.' "What are we supposed to do?"

Sam shrugged. "Angel banishing again?"

"They'll just be back in a couple hours. We need to stop them permanently."

"Dean," Cas grabbed his arm, "they are my garrison. Enough angels have been killed."

"I'm sorry. They won't stop until they have Kevin right?" Cas nodded. "What else can we do?"

"Maybe we can talk to them."

Dean turned to his brother. "Really, Sam? These are angels we're talking about."

"I know, but maybe they'll be willing to compromise. We can let them watch over Kevin somewhere safe after he's told us what's written."

"You really think they'll go for that?"

"You got a better idea?"

He didn't. He just didn't like this at all. "How are we supposed to talk to them right now? They're on like full attack mode." Another blast made the walls shake.

"Let me." Cas walked over to a window and pushed it open. "Inias, Hester, we're willing to talk, please." The rumbling stopped. Cas opened the front door with Dean and Sam close behind him.

The angels were waiting, four of them now, faces set in anger. "Give us the prophet!" Hester was not in the mood to negotiate.

Cas raised his hands. "Hester, we are willing to compromise. You can take Kevin home and watch over him if you let him tell us what is written first."

She moved closer to him. "You have no place to make such an offer. We could destroy you all."

Inias stepped up behind her. "Please, Castiel, help us do our work."

Hester turned to Inias. "We don't need his help or his permission." She looked back to Cas. "The keeper goes to the desert tonight. Either you hand him over or we will level this house and pull him out."

"Why don't you guys just back off." Dean was fed up with angels. "We're trying to clean up the mess that Cas made." He looked at Cas, who looked down at the ground, before turning to Hester. "We all had a hand in it actually, but we can fix this if you let us."

"No, Dean," Cas looked back to him. "I made this mess. You warned me, but I let the leviathans loose all on my own." He pleaded to Hester. "This is my mistake. Let me make it right."

"Just give us some time." Dean stepped closer to Cas.

Hester's eyes hardened and she shook her head at Dean. "Why should we give you anything? After everything you've taken from us? The very touch of you corrupts. When Castiel first laid a hand on you in Hell, he was lost."

Dean felt like she had punched him. It was something he thought all the time. It was all his fault that Cas was were he was now. He had been an honorable soldier, and now he was just a human with the deaths of thousands of angels on his conscience.

Hester advanced on Dean. "For that, you're going to pay."

Cas intercepted her and turned her away from Dean. "Please, they were the ones we were sent to protect."

Hester shook her head. "No, Castiel." She pulled a fist back and punched Cas. He fell to the dirt with a grunt of pain. Dean and Sam jumped to help, but the others blocked their way and threatened to knock them out with a hand.

Blood poured from what felt like a broken nose. Hester grabbed Cas's jacket and twisted him up to his knees. "No more promises." She punched him again. "No more new gods." Another hit. "No more." She hit him a couple more times. Cas was an inch away from unconsciousness when she took out her angel blade.

"Hester," Inias ran forward and grabbed her arm, "no, please. There are so few of us left."

"He's not one of us anymore." She knocked Inias back with a hit of her arm. She bared her teeth to Cas. "You wanted free will. Now I'm making the choices."

Cas held her wrist loosely as she raised the blade high. He heard Dean scream his name as she sliced down. Then, she screamed and lit up with white light. Cas closed his eyes tight against the painful light. Her grip released and she fell to the ground in death.

Angels and humans both stared in shock when they saw the small form of Gabriel standing next to the fallen Hester. "Gabriel?" Cas thought maybe he was hallucinating or really dead. Fingers touched his forehead, healing his wounds. Strong hands lifted him to stand. It took Cas a second to realize Dean was talking to him.

"…you okay, Cas?" He held his face as worried eyes looked him over.

"I healed him, Dean, relax." Gabriel turned to look at the angels. "I suggest you do whatever it is they say."

The angels seemed too shocked at seeing the archangel to answer. He turned to them again. "Gabriel, how…what?" Dean didn't know what form he was looking at.

"Is it still me? How did I get here? Where'd I go? Blah, blah, blah, right?" He laughed. "It's me. I needed a little time away to get control of myself. I'm good now. Well, not good, but I'm not wrestling with Lucifer anymore."

"You're really okay?" Sam sounded genuinely happy.

Gabriel shrugged. "More or less. I have my off moments, but I was crazy to begin with."

"How did you find us?"

"My bro here." He clapped Cas's shoulder. "And I heard that bell go off when you smashed the Word open. I mean, who else would or could ever make so much trouble?"

With a little coaxing from Gabriel, the angels let Kevin finish his work before they took him home. He handed the notebook with the translation to Sam when he was done.

Cas was standing beside Inias. The angel shook his head as he watched Gabriel downing a bag of candy at the table. "These are strange times."

"I think they've always been."

"Take care of yourself, Castiel."

"You too." He smiled as Inias stepped over to join the other two angels as they stood by Kevin.

Sam looked over the notebook. "Thanks, Kevin." He smiled at the boy. "Not a lot of people could have handled this."

"You doin' alright, Chosen One?"

Kevin smiled at Dean and nodded. The angels moved in, putting a hand on each of Kevin's shoulders. Inias buttoned his jacket as he spoke. "Take the keeper to his home." He glanced at Gabriel. "We can watch over him there."

With the flap of wings, they were gone. Sam had the notebook open, reading the passages Kevin had written. "I got it." He pointed and Cas and Dean leaned in to read with him. "The leviathan can not be slain but by a bone of a righteous mortal drenched in the three bloods of the fallen. It says we need to start with the blood of a fallen angel."

Sam and Dean looked at Cas. "I would, but I'm not sure I qualify anymore. I'm human."

"Yeah," Gabriel leaned back in his chair, "you don't have the little bit of grace to be called a fallen angel. Me on the other hand," he stood up and held out a small vile of blood, "I might still count."

They all eyed the bottle warily. "You've fallen?" Sam asked.

Gabriel shrugged. "As far as they're concerned, yeah. I abandoned Heaven, played dead, went against the big plan trying to kill Lucifer, and I have no intention of ever going back. So, I think that qualifies as fallen." He shook the vile.

Sam took it with a thanks. "What will you do now?"

Gabriel shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sure I'll find something to do."

"Just," Dean pointed a finger at him, "no Trickster crap. We're a little busy to go around after you."

He opened his mouth in mock shock. "Dean, I would never want to cause you trouble." He laughed as Dean rolled his eyes. "Check ya later." He disappeared in a flash.

Dean looked at the blood in Sam's hand. "Alright, one down. Let's get working on getting the rest."


	23. Chapter 23

A few days after releasing the Word of God, they hadn't quite figured out what Kevin had translated. Even in English, it was hard to understand. They had tried calling for Bobby at first, but he wasn't answering more than a shifting cup.

Cas had a news station on while Dean read over the notes and Sam researched on his laptop. Dean rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Okay, I have read this more times than the Playboy I found in Dad's duffle."

Sam stopped typing and looked up. "Anna Nicole?"

Dean smiled and nodded. "Anna Nicole. Oh, the good they die young, huh?" Sam made a face before looking away.

Cas kept watching the screen. "Who's Anna Nicole?"

"You wouldn't know her, Cas." He scooted forward on the couch and put the notebook on the table in front of them. "We can read this until our eyes bleed, it ain't getting any clearer."

"'Kay, then what does it mean?" Sam looked over his laptop.

Cas muted the TV as Dean started reading from the notes. "Cut off the head and the body will flounder."

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"I think we can all agree that the head is Dick, right?" Sam and Cas nodded. "So, bottom line is, we grab the stuff and mix ourselves a weapon."

"Right, I'm all for killing Dick, but what about the rest of the leviathan? Are they gonna just drop dead?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."

"Maybe? Maybe is good enough for you right now?"

"That does seem to be what the Word suggests." Cas picked up the notebook and read over that part again.

"Suggests." Sam repeated. "That doesn't mean that that is exactly what will happen. I just think maybe we should figure out what the catch is before we just go crashing the gate."

"Maybe this is the catch." Dean grabbed the book away from Cas and sat back. "God is not telling us every detail, you know? The Word is from God. I don't know how much better it's gonna get."

Cas looked back to the television and saw a familiar face. "Guys." Cas turned the volume up as the anchor talked.

"And now you've recently purchased controlling stock in Sucrocorp?" Dick then appeared on screen with a nod. "Among the world's leading manufacturers in high fructose corn syrup. It's a pleasure to have you with us, Richard."

Dick smiled. "Please, Dick."

Dean leaned forward. "That son of a bitch. I just wanna punch him in the face." Sam shushed him as the anchor continued.

"So, Dick why the recent fascination with big foods?"

"Well, it's no secret that we all love to eat, but now Sucrocorp will focus on eating well."

"Help me connect the dots. How will pumping sweetener into our system make us healthier?"

"One word: purity. We're dialing back the additives to deliver the highest quality all-American products you people deserve. America is for go-getters. Folks who get off their butts and make it happen. We need you just as healthy as you can be. Which is why we are diving whole hog into what keeps Americans living longer and tasting better."

"You do of course mean that the food will be tasting better?"

Dick's smile widened. "That's exactly what I mean." He turned his smiling mouth and eyes to the camera with a nod.

Cas turned off the TV. "Great." Sam sighed.

"What?" Dean looked at Sam.

Sam looked up Sucrocorp on his computer and read through it quickly. "Look at this." He turned the screen for Dean and Cas. "That syrup Sucrocorp makes, is in just about everything." Dean and Cas pulled chairs up to read the screen. "It's in soda, sauces, bread…"

"Don't say pie." Dean pleaded.

"Definitely pie."

"Bastards. So now what? Roman's moved past restaurants?"

"And into grocery stores, Gas n Sips, vending machines…"

"What can we do about it?"

Sam shrugged. "Short of going Al Qaeda on their trucks and plants, there's not much we can do about it."

Sam's laptop slammed shut, nearly taking off Dean's fingers. The three of them looked around. It had gotten colder all of the sudden.

Dean felt the flask in his pocket. "Bobby?" Bobby appeared standing next to the table. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Bobby shrugged. "Stronger than ever." He looked at the three of them. "Now, while the three of you have been chasing your tails, I've been thinking on that weapon."

"Bobby," Sam pulled his computer back to him, "shouldn't you save your strength?"

"For what?"

"Yeah, you might wanna slow down, you don't look so hot." Bobby looked at Dean.

"I'm in the veil. My Brad Pitt days are over." He then turned serious. "Now the kid says that the only way to kill leviathan is with a bone washed in the three bloods of the fallen. It's gotta be from a human that is as pure and good as the leviathan are dark."

"Good luck with that."

"The rest is doable, and doable now. You've already got the fallen angel blood. The next is from the ruler of fallen humanity. The best I can tell, that's Crowley. Numero tres is the father of fallen beasts."

"Which means?"

"You gotta bleed an alpha."

"But they're all dead. Every one we found we rounded up for Crowley and then Cas wammied them all."

"Then make this Crowley's problem too." Bobby raised his voice. "You know how he feels about the leviathans. He would be more than willing to help."

"I get it."

"DO YOU?!"

The three of them all jumped when the window behind the sink shattered at Bobby's outburst. They all looked at Bobby with wary eyes. He sighed. "I'm just sayin', I have faith you boys will figure it out." They all nodded. "Relax, I just got a little carried away."

He disappeared and they let out a breath. Dean stood up and walked up to the open window. Wanting to avoid the talk about Bobby's violent behavior, Dean turned back to them. "So, Crowley?"

They gathered the material to summon the demon and he was quick to show.

"Hello, boys." He smiled at them. "What can I do for you?"

"We found a way to kill Dick."

"Splendid, so why are you talking to me?"

"We need something from you to make it work."

"Oh," he walked around the room, taking in the surroundings, "so the Winchesters need something from me, yet again? How suprising."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Do you wanna kill the leviathans or not?"

"What is it you need?"

"Your blood."

Crowley thought for a second before nodding. "Happily, but not quite yet. I'm all for chopping Dick but I can't have you running around with a vile of my blood now can I?" They looked confused. "Do you know the sheer amounts of nefarious spells my enemies could use my blood for?"

"Then when?"

"Last. After you've got all the other components. I'm assuming it's not just my blood you need?"

Dean didn't want to really tell him, but maybe he could actually be useful in finding some of the items. "Fallen angel blood," he didn't really want to tip of Gabriel's survival, "yours, an alpha's, and a bone from a righteous mortal."

Crowley hummed in thought. "The most difficult would be the angel part I'm assuming." The looked at Cas. "Your hubby there isn't angel enough to count anymore, right?" He smiled as Cas looked away. "And of course, given your role in their little apocalypse, I'm sure most of the choir boys upstairs aren't wanting to help you with anything anymore. Unless of course you happen to have a _real_ angel up your sleeve?"

"That'd be convenient, but no."

Sam cut in. "Don't worry about it. We'll get the blood one way or another. We just need you to be ready the next time we call."

"Fine." He turned to leave, but stopped. "Oh, little tip. I have it on good authority that there is still one alpha among us."

"Who's authority?" Cas asked.

Crowley smirked at him. "Mine. That alpha vampire managed to slip out before you when nuclear on that prison of mine."

"You know this, how?" Dean asked.

"Keep your friends close, your enemies blah blah. Needless to say, I keep tabs. He moves around quite a bit but I have an inkling that I know where to start the stag hunt. Happy trails." Then he was gone.

Dean raised his arms. "Where, jackass?"

"Dean." The table in front of Cas busted into flames. They watched as words were burned into the wood. "Hoople, North Dakota."

"A piece of paper would have worked."

They were packing up for the drive when Dean found Cas sitting on the bed in their room. He sat beside him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Dean tapped their shoulders together. "Come on. You've been too quiet since Crowley was here." Cas shook his head. "Is that what's bothering you?"

"No, we need Crowley." He said it with disdain. He didn't like the idea of being around the demon at all, especially after everything they had been through. "I just wish I could do more."

"What do you mean? You do everything you can."

Cas nodded. "Yeah." He moved to stand up and Dean grabbed his arm.

"Cas," he pulled him back to sit, "does this have something to do with your grace being gone?"

Cas looked away. "Most of the time I don't think about it. I know I'm not useless or helpless, but I just keep thinking how much easier it would be if…"

"If you were an angel?" Dean leaned closer to his husband. "Cas, I don't want an angel." Cas looked up at him. "Sure, some things could be easier, but I don't want easy." He rested his forehead on Cas's shoulder. "I love you just like this, Cas. The angel you wouldn't be here as much, if at all."

Cas relaxed against him. Dean kissed his cheek briefly and saw Cas smile. Cas turned his head towards Dean and leaned forward for a full kiss. "Thank you, Dean."

"No problem." He pushed forward and kissed him again. "Let's go." He stood, dragging Cas with him. "We got a vampire to catch."

They pulled into a gas station in Hoople. Cas was asleep in the back seat while Sam and Dean filled the tank. An abrupt slap to the leg startled Cas awake. "Come on, we wanna talk to you."

Cas sat up and rubbed his eyes. Dean was leaning in through the backseat window. "What?"

"Come here." Dean beckoned him with a finger and opened the back door.

Cas groaned in refusal and turned to his side. He heard Dean sigh just before he pulled him half way out of the car by his feet. Cas grabbed the back of the driver's seat to stop from being pulled out completely.

"Get up, come on." Dean insisted, Cas could hear a small smile in his voice.

"I'm up." Cas sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Dean waited by the door as Cas slowly dragged himself out of the car. When Cas was out of the way, Dean tossed Bobby's flask into the backseat, they wanted to talk without Bobby around.

As soon as the tank was full, the three of them went into the Gas n Sip. Sam picked up a basket by the door. "I'm worried about Bobby." They headed down an isle. "He's obviously getting stronger and angrier, all of which gets him closer to being a full-on vengeful spirit." He looked at Dean. "We need to talk about what we're gonna do with him."

"Do with him?" Dean raised his eyebrows at his brother. "Three weeks ago, you were talking about how this could work and now you want to go Kevorkian on his ass?"

"We may not have much choice soon, Dean." Cas was looking through the small bags of chips on the shelf beside him.

"I'm just saying that the lore doesn't have a single real life example of Casper the Friendly Ghost. It's all basically poltergeists until a hunter comes along."

"Yeah, well the lore sucks." Dean picked up a few items, flipping the boxes over before putting them back.

Sam sighed. "I'm talking pure hatred, no humanity. I mean, he could kill, possess people. He burn this freaking building down."

Dean was about to tell Sam how Bobby wouldn't do something like that, when someone caught his eye. A man, who seemed completely out of it, was piling mustard onto his hotdog. "Hey." He looked at Sam and smacked Cas' arm. "Check out that guy over there." He pointed to the oblivious man.

Sam and Cas turned to look at him. "Does he look a little out of it to you?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."

The three of them looked around the store. Dean gestured to the short, older woman behind him. "What about Paula Deen over here?"

The woman was staring blankly at the cooler of drinks, making no move to decide anything. Sam tilted his head a little. "Yeah, they look like…" he looked at the couple other people in the store. This all looked familiar. "Like those Turducken people." Sam remembered Dick buying Sucrocorp. "It's starting."

Dean and Cas's eyes widened. Dick sure had gotten on that fast. Dean picked up a slice of pie off the shelf in front of him.

"It's the corn syrup. Everything in this store is laced with it."

"Everything?" Dean looked forlorn. Sam shrugged and nodded.

They scattered to search for anything that didn't have corn syrup. Cas was reading labels off of everything across from Sam. After a couple minutes of finding nothing, Dean came back, beginning to panic. "Man, I'm gonna go into toxic shock. I need my road food." He grabbed a pie off the rack.

"That's what Roman is banking on."

Dean read the label quickly and felt a spark of hope. "Hey," he lifted it up to Sam, "this says 'natural' that means it's safe, right?"

Sam quickly put the pie back. "I hate to break it to you, but corn syrup is natural, technically."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to eat?" Sam lifted his basket that contained bottles of water and bananas. "Are you kidding?"

They left the station with some more fruit, Dean pouting the whole drive.

They scouted the town for a place that would fit the lifestyle of an alpha. He would most likely have minions around to help him, protect him. By nightfall, they found a deserted looking mansion that was gated off that looked like it could be the place. They couldn't see anything from their positions in the car outside the gate.

"Should we wait 'till the morning?" Sam wanted them to have the best chance possible.

Bobby reappeared beside Cas in the backseat, causing him to jump slightly in surprise. "No, we ain't waiting. I'll scout out the place." The ghost disappeared to search the house. He wasn't gone long before reappearing. "The place is clear, but there's something you're gonna want to see."

They all made their way into the mansion, machetes in hand for safety. Bobby led them to one of the dining rooms where three dead vampires were laid out on the long table. The area around their mouths were burned away like they had swallowed acid.

Dean looked at Bobby, "You know a way to kill vampires with battery acid?"

Bobby shook his head. "The only way I know is beheading."

Sam leaned in as close as he dared. "Well, something didn't agree with them." He narrowed his eyes and nodded to the wall. "Hey, check out that wall." He stepped closer. "Does it seem weird to you?"

Sam and Dean walked up to the wall, feeling for a seam. "Cas, check and see if you can find a switch or something."

Cas searched along the wall as Bobby walked around him. "Don't need one." Bobby went through the wall into whatever was behind it.

Sam helped Cas look through the bookshelf along the wall. Soon they found a fake book that was covering a doorbell. Sam pushed the button and the wall opened up to reveal a brink pink bedroom. Bobby was inside with a young girl.

The girl had jumped to her feet and backed up to the opposite wall, clutching a stuffed bear. Sam motioned for them to put their machetes away. "It's okay."

Dean smiled at her. "We're not gonna hurt you. No fangs." He pointed to his teeth. "See?"

"We just wanna talk."

The girl nodded. They led her into the other room and sat her down in one of the chairs. Dean put his jacket over her shoulders, she had to be cold in her nightgown. They asked for her story.

"I was eight. My mom left me at the playground while she ran to the store. A man approached me and told me I was the prettiest girl there. I've been living with these things ever since."

"Do you have any idea why?" Sam sat across from her.

"I'm one of his special girls. All of the others, it was there job to make sure I was ready for the alpha whenever he came. Wash me, give me my IV bags every day. It's my only food, so my blood is pure."

Dean crossed his arms. "And they've been doing this for how long?"

"Twelve years." She shrugged lightly at their looks. "Virgins are a delicacy. He always has at least one of us on hand."

"Don't worry. We'll get you back to your mother." Sam gave her a sympathetic smile.

"You sure she remembers me?"

"Of course she does. Don't you remember her?" She shook her head.

"These guys," Dean pointed to the vamps on the table, "are they friends of yours?"

"They take care of the alpha when he's here, or did."

"What happened to them?" Cas asked. He couldn't imagine what had caused that damage.

She looked at Cas. "A week ago, they came back from what they said was an easy hunt. Three humans just came, didn't put up any fight. When they started in on them, the vampires screamed in pain. The ones who ate died immediately."

"The ones who didn't?" Sam asked.

"There was only one. When he saw what happened, he moved to animals. He's out hunting as we speak."

"Never heard of vamps being allergic to humans before." Dean was confused.

"You think maybe," Sam looked up at Dean, "it's the corn syrup? That Gas n Sip was full of stoners. All ripe for the picking."

"She did say it was an easy hunt."

"Do you know where the alpha is now?" Sam turned back to the girl.

"I don't know, maybe. There is a place he goes when something is wrong. He calls it his retreat." Sam pulled out his cell phone. "What is that?" She pointed to his phone.

"That's Sam's douche-tracker." At her confused look, he continued. "It helps us find the alpha. All we need is an address."

"I don't know. I remember some things that might help, though."

"Okay," Sam smiled comfortingly, "just do the best you can."

They took the information Emily had and started in a general direction. They stopped by a fresh produce store first to pick up some more food for all of them. Cas stayed back with Emily in the car while Sam and Dean shopped.

"I can't do this." Dean pointed at the bag of lettuce and fruit in Sam's arm. "I can't live on rabbit food, I'm a warrior."

Sam smiled. "Dean, you'll be fine."

"You don't know that."

Sam laughed. "So, what's next on the list?"

"Well, if we're gonna rush the alpha, we need dead man's blood which means we need to go to a morgue," he caught sight of one of the stoners sipping a slushy on a bench close to them, "or…"

"Or what?" Sam followed his look.

"Forget the morgue. We are swimming in vamp poison."

Sam shrugged and walked over to the man with Dean right behind. "Excuse me, sir." The man turned foggy eyes to Sam. "Hi, we're with the Red Cross," he flashed him a badge, "we have an emergency shortage and we're gonna need…" Sam stopped as the man blinked slowly. "You're not getting a word, are you?"

Dean snapped his fingers and sat beside the man. "Hey, hold out your arm. We need your blood."

"Dude."

The man slowly held out his right arm to them. Dean smiled in triumph and Sam raised his eyebrows. "Okay, Sam," Dean took out the syringe, "tap the keg."

Sam looked around nervously. "Here?"

"Yeah, it's fine. It's Woodstock, everyone is hopped up on the brown acid. We don't need the song and dance." He held the needle out. "Give him a little prick." Sam's head whipped back to Dean, who smiled.

Sam rolled his eyes and set his bag down. He took the needle from Dean and sat on the man's left side. Dean smiled at the man as he drank his slushy. Sam inserted the needle into the back of the man's hand.

The man flinched. "Ow, that hurts." His voice didn't convey any of the said pain. He turned to Dean slowly. "This is for Hurricane Katrina you said?"

"Yes, I did." Sam shot him a curious look and Dean shrugged.

"So, Dean," Sam struggled to talk around the needle cover between his teeth, "when we get there, Bobby is gonna have to hang back." Dean looked away. "Do you disagree?"

"He ain't gonna like it. He helped us in getting Emily."

"I'm team Bobby too, but there's a reason we left him in the car with Emily and Cas. The more action he sees, the more likely he is to spin out."

"Okay, so we keep him off the front lines and he can just keep calm and carry on, right?"

Sam nodded. "If he can't…" A police car slowed down behind them and the brothers tensed up. Sam carefully removed the needle from the oblivious man. "Why Can't We Be Friends" was blaring from the officer's open windows. The cop had slowed down to completely shove his doughnut into his mouth before pulling away.

Dean smiled as he played his sirens along with the song. "That's awesome."

"Come on, Dean." Sam had collected the bag of food and was walking back to the car.

They were driving back. Dean looked back at Emily. "When they dragged you to vamp camp, you remember how long the drive was?"

"We left at night, got there before dawn."

"So six, seven hours?" Sam had his phone out again, hoping to find where they were going.

"I think so, yes."

"Do you remember what highway it was?"

She shook her head. "No, we only took back roads."

Sam nodded. "Okay, so figure they only averaged 45 miles per hour."

Dean did the math quickly in his head. "About 300 miles. What direction were you going?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Sam turned to face her. "Is there anything else you remember?"

"Bells. As he pulled up, I could hear these loud bells."

"It was still dark out?"

"You think church?"

"No, too early." Sam looked at Dean. "Could've been a monastery. Monks get up at four AM to pray."

Dean groaned. "Can't get laid, can't sleep in, freakin' tragedy." Sam searched for monasteries in the area. "So, the alpha camp is next to a monkey house." He smiled, but got no reaction from anyone in the car and frowned. "How many we got in range?"

"Looks like, just one. Just outside of Missoula, Montana."

They drove on for a few hours before pulling up to the gate outside the large estate. Emily tensed in the backseat. "This is where he took me."

"Are you sure?" Sam watched a few vamps patrolling the perimeter.

Emily nodded. "What now?"

Dean started the car. "We get you someplace safe and circle back and kill these leeches."

They bought a room in town for Emily to stay in and they waited for sunrise to head out. Dean handed Sam the blood from slushy dude. "Here, ten cc's of vamptonite." Sam and Cas both furrowed their eyebrows. "It's a thing."

"What's a Kardashian?" Emily was watching TMZ on the motel TV.

"Oh, just another bloodsucker." Dean and Sam smiled, but Emily's eyes widened in fear. "No, it's a joke." Dean shook his head and walked to the closet, which had a small safe inside.

Sam wrote a phone number down on a piece of paper and handed it to Emily. "If we're not back by midnight, call this number. Jody Mills, she's a friend. She'll take care of you."

"Thank you."

Dean opened the small safe and took out Bobby's flask. "You're stayin' here, for your own good." He set the flask inside and locked the safe.

Cas had pulled the door open as Dean locked the safe, and now it ripped from his hands and slammed shut. Everyone jumped. Dean looked back at Emily. "It was the wind." He turned away form her, stepping closer to Cas. "Chill out, Bobby. We'll be back soon." Cas opened the door again with no trouble.

Dean put a hand on Cas's back as they walked out the door. Sam shook his head. "He didn't take that very well."

"How would you take it?" Dean let his hand slip down Cas's back as they reached the car. He dropped his hand by the trunk. "I got that, Sam." He took the bag from Sam's arm.

"Okay." He looked suspicious but sat in the passenger's seat while Dean and Cas opened the trunk.

They tossed their bags into the trunk. Cas turned to get in the car, but was stopped when Dean grabbed his arm. "Hold on, Cas."

"What?" Cas faced him, suddenly worried.

"I just…" Dean's grip tightened. "This is a big fish we're goin' after here. It took a lot of people to catch him last time and a lot of them died."

"We'll be okay, Dean. We all watch out for each other." Cas put his free hand on Dean's shoulder.

"I know." He stepped closer to Cas. "Just watch yourself, okay?"

Cas nodded and pulled Dean close to rest their foreheads together. "You too." He tilted his chin up and kissed Dean briefly before pulling back and getting in the car. Once the trunk was shut, Dean joined them and they took off for the alpha's retreat.

Dean parked in the same spot they had been the night before. There were no vampires outside this time. "This time of day, most of them will be catching z's. They won't know what hit 'em." When Sam didn't answer for a while, Dean leaned forward, trying to see his brother's face. "Hey, you with me?"

Sam was staring toward the house. "Yeah."

"But?"

Sam turned to face him. "Are you sure you just want to charge in there, machetes blazing? You remember what it was like last time?"

"Yeah. Do you have a better idea?"

He sighed. "No."

The three of them made their way to the front door. Sam pushed the large wooden door open slowly, Dean and Cas behind him. He took a couple cautious steps through the doorway. Dean was about to follow when Sam was suddenly thrown to the side.

"SAM!" Dean ran after him, vaguely feeling Cas grab for his arm before another pair of strong hands pulled him over and slamming him to the wall. Cas managed to at least cut the vampire that came after him before he was similarly subdued.

They were dragged through part of the house by their vampire holders. Soon, they found themselves standing across a long table from the alpha vampire. "The Winchesters." He smiled at them, the smile never quite reaching his eyes. "I'm intrigued."

A door on the side of the room opened and closed as Emily made her way to the alpha. "Emily?" Sam thought maybe they had found her at the motel, but her smile killed that theory.

"Hi, Sam." She leaned against the alpha's chair and looked rather pleased with herself.

"Wow." Dean shook his head. "For a girl raised in a basement, you're a hell of an actress."

"You were gonna hurt my daddy." She put her hand on the alpha's shoulder.

Dean made a disbelieving noise. "You get a trophy in Stockholm Syndrome. Sorry to burst your bubble but we weren't going to hurt him. Sam here had a better idea."

"We're here to talk, that's it." Sam lifted his hands in surrender.

The alpha laughed. "Now that my guys have taken your blades and syringes filled with tainted blood. Is that what you mean?"

"We figured you might hold a grudge." Dean tried to smile as the alpha stared at him.

"Why would I? Because you captured me, tortured me, and sold me to the king of Hell?"

"That was more our grandpa." Dean felt the strong hand on the back of his head a second before his face collided with the table.

Cas moved forward with a growl, seeing red. The vampire hit him, almost knocking him to the floor. Only the grasp the vampire had on Cas's hair kept him upright. The monster bared it's fangs as Cas struggled.

"Enough." The alpha seemed amused by the fight.

Dean pushed himself back up, blood dripping from his lips and landing on the table. "Thank you for that. That was awesome."

The alpha smiled. "I want to peel off your faces and drink you slowly."

Sam raised his hands again. "Please, just listen. You need us."

"Yes." He leaned forward in his chair. "I am so thirsty." His voice was turning into a feral growl.

"The plague, we know what it is." The alpha relaxed slightly, curious. "What do you know about leviathan?"

He smiled. "A bit."

"You know they're poisoning the food supply?"

"Roman didn't mention that when we met for dinner last Fall. We made lots of plans. We are on excellent terms, he and I."

Great, so the monsters were working together. But maybe Dick was just using him too. "You sure about that?" Dean wanted to make the alpha doubt. "Did he mention that he was going to Maui Wowie the human population?"

"Of course. He said grabbing a snack would be easier than ever."

"He said you'd all live together didn't he?" Sam could see it now. It was a good plan on Dick's part. Get the cooperation of the other monsters and then wipe them out while they smiled and thought you had saved them. "You really believe him? You think your children are dying by accident? There's pesticide in the formula."

"It suits you to think so. You need me on your side."

"We're not the ones burning from the inside out. Think about it. Whatever deal he made with you was crap. Trust us!"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, we can stop Dick, stop all of it. We just…" he hesitated, not feeling in the position to ask for anything. "We need your blood for the weapon."

The alpha laughed softly. "So now you want to prevent the extinction of the vampire race?"

Dean shook his head. "No, but it beats going down with you."

The side door Emily came through opened again. A small boy cautiously entered the room. He was a lot younger than Emily. "Alan." The alpha beckoned him closer.

"The creep gets creepier." He whispered to Sam.

"What's wrong?"

"Edgar is here."

Fear shot through the three of them. This was not what they needed. "Wow, what a funny coincidence." Dean figured that they leviathans had to be following them. "We need soap, cleanser, anything with Borax in it and we're gonna need knives."

The alpha looked at the other vampires. "Put them in the study."

"No, no, wait." Sam tried to reason again as the vampires took hold of them.

"Word of advice, boys." The alpha looked at all of them in turn. "You do not live through centuries of fire and ice and continental divide by jumping to conclusions."

With a wave of his hand, they were dragged out of the room and thrown into the study. The door locked behind them. "Great." Dean tried to pull the door open and failed. He turned to Cas, who was rubbing the back of his head where the vampire had been holding his hair. "I thought I told you to watch yourself." He walked up to push Cas's shoulder lightly. "They could have killed you."

"They had hurt you, Dean. What was I supposed to do?"

"Not come at them the way you did."

"Guys!" Sam broke up the argument. "We have bigger issues right now."

Dean and Cas agreed and buried the fight for now. They looked for any kind of opening or weak spot in the room. After a couple minutes, they turned up nothing.

Sam was testing the strength of the window bars. "You think Edgar is here for the same reason we are? If they figured out that we need alpha blood for a weapon…"

"I think, any way you slice it you've got Pac Man and True Blood in the same room and that's bad news." Dean looked around the room. "He's not stupid, why do you think he locked us in here?"

"We're his enemy. They're like monster cousins or something. Who would you give the benefit of the doubt to? You know, maybe the food is poisoning the vamps by accident, maybe they'll fix it."

"I think you've got the oldest monster on Earth thinking he can hold his own because he always has."

"Edgar's gonna eat him alive."

"Yeah." Dean glanced at the IV drip next to him. He picked up the end with the needle. "You think you could pick a lock with this?"

Sam pulled the needle off. "Then what? We gave up all our vamptonite."

"Did we?" Dean smirked and pulled up a leg of his jeans. He had one of the vamptonite filled syringes in his boot.

Sam got the door open easy enough and they made their way through the house. While turning onto a hallway, one of the vampires jumped out and latched onto Sam's back, fangs bared.

Dean flipped around and stabbed the monster's neck, injecting him with the poison. He fell to the ground as his skin sizzled before he stopped in death. "Wow."

"Vamptonite." Sam ran a hand over his neck where the vampire almost bit him.

Dean nodded. "Freakin' vamptonite. We need knives. There as to be a kitchen or a prep room somewhere, come on." He pulled Sam and Cas after him as he continued down the hall.

They found the kitchen and armed themselves with the biggest knives they could find and headed back to the alpha. They got there in time to see Edgar throw the vampire down while Emily screamed.

"Don't squirm. I need every last drop."

Dean charged in behind Edgar, only to be stopped when he turned to face him with his full monster face. Dean made a swing for him and got his arm twisted as he dropped the knife. Sam came up behind Edgar as he grabbed Dean and sliced through the monster's neck. Edgar fell with his head rolling away.

"Cas, the alpha." Dean reached for a glass to hold the blood as Cas went for the vampire. Sam moved to back him up.

Emily ran forward to protect her daddy. "No!"

"Stay back." Cas pushed her back gently. The alpha growled and tossed Cas over the table. He landed with a hard crash.

"Leave her alone." The alpha warned him. "She's been through quite enough."

"That's rich, coming from the guy who took her off the swing set." Sam kept out of arm's reach as Dean ran around the table to help Cas up.

"Do you want to do this fight, or do you want my blood?" He sat down at the table, calmly and righted a glass that had been knocked over by Cas. He held his right arm over it and cut open his wrist. Blood filled the cup and he offered it to Sam. "For taking care of Edgar. Now go."

Sam looked at the cup and hesitated. Dean gave him an insistent look. "What about the little boy?"

The alpha made a disbelieving sound. "Are you joking?"

"Do we look like we're joking?" Dean knew what his brother wanted. "How many other kids you got in here you freak?"

"At the moment, just him." The three of them kept their eyes on him, until he finally sighed and looked at Emily. "Emily, tell Alan to get his coat. He's leaving with the Winchesters." Emily nodded and left. "Now take it." He held the glass out to Sam.

Sam took it from him before he could change his mind. Dean kept an arm around Cas as he walked him towards the door, Sam followed.

"What, no thank you?" They stopped and looked back. "Right, right, your flesh is crawling. All you really want to do is kill me now. You hate having to wait and come back and try again."

Dean nodded. "Pretty much." He pointed to Edgar's severed head. "I wouldn't leave that head too close to that body for too long."

The alpha smiled. "See you next season."

"Looking forward to it."

They met Alan out front and took him to the police station, much to the dismay of Dean. He wasn't sure if the whole leviathan double killing spree had been forgotten yet. Luckily, they weren't recognized and they kept Alan. Of course, they had a lot of questions for them first.

A couple hours later, they were finally able to head back to the motel. "Let's never do that again. The cops thought we took that kid."

"As long as he gets back to his folks, I don't care what they thought." Sam was relieved that he would be okay.

When they reached their room, the door was already open. They pulled out their guns before going in. The room was a mess. The mirrors were broken, pictures were tilted, and the covers on the bed were disheveled. They knew who could have done all that.

"Bobby?" Dean put his gun away. "Bobby?"

"Dean," Sam pulled the already open safe open more. It was empty. "He's gone."

"Son of a bitch."

Sam took out his EMF and scanned the room. "I'm getting trace bits of EMF, but it's fading fast. Bobby's probably been gone four hours. He's got the flask, how the hell are we supposed to track him?" Dean closed the safe. Cas was leaning against the wall by the closet. "Dean, I hate to say this…"

"Then don't," Dean walked away from the closet, "he's gone. How could he do this? We have half the freakin' weapon, we're almost there."

"It's not him. He's not thinking."

"So what, we just keep going while he's out there like this?"

"Do we have any other option? It's what he'd want us to do, right?"

"Yeah, right. Him and Frank, and thank God we have Crowley," Dean stood and grabbed his bag, "what could possibly go wrong?"

"Dean."

"Whatever, we need to go before somebody that works here sees this room." Dean packed quickly, Sam and Cas did the same.

It didn't take them long to get back to their cabin. Sam took the alpha's blood and put it away with Gabriel's and then headed to the bathroom to shower.

Cas followed Dean as he went to their room. He pulled off his jacket harshly and threw it onto the bed. He was upset, Cas could see as much. "Dean."

"What?" He glared at his duffle as he kicked off his shoes.

"I know you're upset about Bobby…"

"Don't." He lifted a warning finger. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Cas nodded. "Fine." Dean looked back at his bag. "I'm sure he was just too wrapped up in going after Dick that…"

"I said," Dean threw his bag on the ground, "I don't wanna talk about it. Let it go. He's gone and that's it. I shouldn't be surprised. That's what everyone does, Cas. They all leave."

Cas moved closer, wanting to comfort Dean. Dean just pulled back. "Don't listen to me." Dean tried to force a laugh. "I'm just tired and hungry." Dean took his blue jacket off, leaving only his t-shirt.

"How's your head?" Cas pointed to the small bruise forming on Dean's forehead.

"I'm fine." Dean rubbed it absently.

Cas walked up to him and laid a finger on the bruise, wishing he could heal it. He settled for leaning up and kissing the mark gently. He then touched the small cut on his lip before leaning in and kissing his lips too. Dean's arms wrapped around him tightly. Cas held Dean's shoulders as they kissed.

Dean walked them back until Cas's back hit the wall. He worked quickly to remove Cas's top layer of shirts and kiss the exposed skin of his neck.

"Dean, I…" Dean silenced him with a crushing kiss. Dean pulled him away from the wall and pushed him down to the bed. Before he could try to talk again, Dean joined him on the bed.

Cas knew what he was doing, knew he wanted to keep Cas quiet from asking questions and bringing up Bobby. He knew Dean had been worried about him getting hurt or killed by the vampires and was happy that he was okay. He knew what Dean needed, what they all needed sometimes: a distraction.

He pulled Dean down for a hard kiss, giving him what he wanted. Dean hummed and pressed his body down against Cas. Cas arched into him and locked his arms behind his neck.

They tried to keep the noise down for Sam's sake and managed pretty well.


	24. Chapter 24

"I still say this is a bad idea." Dean was driving them to go find a bone from a righteous mortal buried in a convent. Sam was in the passenger's seat and Cas was lying down in the back.

"It was your idea." Sam had the map in his lap. "And, it was the best one any of us had."

"I said it as a joke."

"It was a bad joke, a good idea."

"Yeah, because we've got no book, no magic spell, nothing on how to find a freakin' righteous bone."

"You wanna try and call Gabriel? He might know something that could help." Dean gave Sam a look that answered that question. "It was just a suggestion. I know you don't like the guy much but he's helped us a lot since he came back."

Dean snorted. "How? You know, he could probably send these things back easily if he wanted to."

Sam just shrugged. "Maybe, but he gave us his blood for the weapon, he saved Cas, he saved me, Dean. He's done a lot for us."

"Whatever." Dean turned on the radio, the announcers were talking about Dick.

"Rising stock hit an all-time high following Roman's acquisition of Sucrocorp. I say Roman's a buy."

The female announcer countered him. "I disagree with you there. I'm gonna call him a wait and watch."

"A wait and watch? You're killing me!"

"Hear me out. This is a new sector for Roman."

"Right, he's hold up at Sucrocorp head courters right now."

Dean turned off the radio. "Hold up at Sucrocorp, huh?" They filed that information away for later.

While Sam kept watch outside, Dean and Cas went in to the mausoleum. Cas had a book that listed the nuns buried there, which he had taken from one of the offices. Dean held the flashlight for him so he could read the names.

"If we can't find a righteous bone in a freakin' nunnery crypt, we're really screwed."

Cas hummed in agreement. "How about this one: Sister Mary Benedict, taught the learning impaired and died at age 23?"

"No, too young. Find someone who's had time to cook."

"Uh," Cas read down the list of names, "Sister Mary Eunice, fed the poor and became Mother Superior at age 60?"

Dean shook his head. "Sounds political. Power corrupts."

Cas turned a page in the old book. "Sister Mary Constant, 83 years of quiet, humble, nun-like goodness." He tilted the book for Dean to read.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Wow, I wanna be more righteous just reading this." He pointed the flashlight away to read the headstones on the walls. "I guess the odds are on her."

With just a little searching, they found the grave. Dean turned back to Cas. "All right, let's bone this nun." Cas didn't smile. Dean grimaced. "Sorry." He handed the flashlight to him before lining up a shot with his sledgehammer and breaking the stone. Dean removed the tibia from the nun's grave and they all left for their cabin.

Because they had all the other necessary pieces, they needed to summon Crowley to get his blood to finish the weapon. Fire shot from the bowl on the table and they waited, expecting the demon. They got worried when he didn't show after a minute.

"Is he trying to make a grand entrance or…?" Dean didn't think Crowley would bail on this. They all knew how much he wanted to kill Dick. Then again, this was Crowley. "Son of a bitch is standing us up."

"But," Sam pointed to the bowl, "we summoned him. Doesn't he kina have to…"

"If Crowley wants to screw you, he'll screw you."

"Maybe he can't come." Cas could imagine that Dick knew at least a little about what they were meaning to do. "Maybe something happened to him."

Dean shrugged. "Maybe. Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

A knock on the door made them all jump. They took out their guns as Sam went to see who it was. He turned a shocked look to Dean and Cas before putting away his gun and opening the door. Gabriel was standing just outside the threshold.

"Hey, boys." He waved.

"Gabriel?" Cas had truly thought he would never see the archangel again.

"Why did you knock?" Dean stepped closer to the door.

"Because, jackass, the house is still covered in angel-proofing." He crossed his arms and gave a weak glare to each of them.

"Right, well it's gonna stay that way until we know that the angels aren't coming down here for us."

Gabriel's face turned more serious. "You won't have to worry about that much anymore."

"What?"

"Let me in and I'll tell you." They all exchanged looks. "What, I'm not a threat."

They went around the house to take off enough of the paint to let Gabriel enter the cabin. The archangel shut the door behind him and sat down at the table. "Okay," Sam stepped up beside Gabriel, "what do you mean 'we won't have to worry' about the angels?"

"Well, I swung by the prophet's house earlier, gonna try to intimidate the angels a little you know, since the little mooks hadn't contacted me like I told them to. When I got there," he shook his head, "nothing."

"What do you mean?" Sam threw a worried look at Cas.

"I mean," Gabriel turned to look at Sam, "there was no one there. Well," he lifted a finger, "that's not true. The police were there. Man," he laughed and looked at the three of them, "I barely talked my way out of that one." He laughed again.

"Why were the police there?" Sam's voice grew in irritation at Gabriel's lack of helpful answers.

"Because a friend stopped by the house and was a little freaked by the dead bodies in the kitchen."

"Wait," Dean stepped closer to the table, "Kevin?"

"It wasn't him." Gabriel looked at Cas. "It was the angels."

Dean and Sam shared confused looks and Cas dropped his head. "Who killed them?"

Gabriel tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "You guys do now that leviathans can kill angels, right?" He looked at Cas as he raised his head. "I know you did. You didn't tell them?" Dean turned to look at Cas.

Cas shook his head. "It didn't matter."

"Are all the angels gone?" Sam wanted to stay focused. He could see Dean getting upset with Cas for not telling him about how strong the leviathans are.

Gabriel shrugged. "I couldn't find any of the garrison. If they're alive, they're hiding, and hiding well." He picked absently at the bone sitting in a big bowl on the table next to the bowl with the ingredients to summon Crowley.

"What about Kevin?" Dean had looked back to Gabriel.

"He wasn't there. I'm assuming they took him. Which means, Dick knows everything you know and he knows that you know. Kevin is probably dead, well no, maybe not. He could still be useful, I guess."

"You could get him out." Sam couldn't imagine what Kevin had to be going through.

Gabriel laughed. "No thanks. I already died once. I would rather not do that again if I can help it." He leaned over the bowl on the table and sniffed the contents. "So, what did you want…" he sniffed again, "Crowley for?"

"Uh," Sam was thrown a little at the sudden change in subject, "we need his blood for the weapon to kill Dick."

Gabriel nodded. "And I'm sure that he knows that and he won't let you have it."

"Crowley wants the leviathans gone as much as us. He's willing to help us."

"If he doesn't get a better offer."

"Truer words couldn't be said." The unmistakable voice of Crowley managed to make the room shift into a guarded, uneasy atmosphere. "Hello, boys." He looked at Gabriel with slightly raised eyebrows and scowled. "Well, Gabriel."

Gabriel stood and turned to face the demon. "Crowley." Distaste colored his features. "It's been a long time."

"You two have met before?" Dean knew that they knew who the other was, but he never thought they would have ever seen the other.

"Oh yeah," Gabriel didn't look away from Crowley, "we go way back, don't we, Fergus?"

Crowley glared. "Yes, although I changed a little since then."

"Yeah," he looked him up and down, "King of Hell now, huh? I wish I could say I was impressed."

The air was practically crackling with tension. Crowley smiled as his eyes glared and he stepped closer to the angel. "You should be." He crossed his arms. "How are you even here. Last I heard, you were dead."

"I got a rather uncomfortable ride back thanks to Cas here." Gabriel pointed at him.

"Well, if it's so uncomfortable for you, I can arrange for you to be sent back."

"Alright," Dean stepped between them, "that's enough."

"It's enough when I say it is." Crowley growled at Dean. "I came here to help you and you're hiding an angel from me. Not just any angel either, the archangel Gabriel himself. No trust among this lot, huh?" He shook his head and pulled out a vile of blood from his jacket. "You're lucky I hate those monsters more than you." He held the vile out to them.

"Really?" Sam was nervous. He figured Dick had already gotten hold of the demon. "Just boxed up and ready to go?"

"I'm a model of efficiency."

"Is that right? Then why were you late?"

"Dick had me in a devil trap." He shrugged like it was no big deal. "He's not an idiot. He knows what you two are after."

Sam nodded. They all expected as much. "So, what'd he offer you?"

"A fair deal. In exchange for giving you the wrong blood." He shook the vile. "It's demon, but is it mine? It's my blood, real deal."

"And why should we trust you?" Dean moved to stand by Sam.

"God," Crowley rolled his eyes, "don't, don't trust anyone!" He looked at Cas. "A lesson I learned from my last business partner." He took a couple steps towards Cas.

Dean spoke up, hoping to distract Crowley from Cas. "Fine, give us the blood." He held out a hand.

Crowley turned to face Dean. "Certainly." He tossed the vile to Dean and turned to Gabriel. "If I were you, I wouldn't hang around these morons when they go after Dick. It could get messy for everyone." Before anyone could ask what he meant, Crowley was gone.

Dean looked at the vile in his hand. "Think this is the real blood?"

Cas grabbed it from Dean and looked it over. He handed it to Gabriel. "Is it?" Gabriel had recognized what was needed to summon Crowley, maybe he could tell if it was his blood.

Gabriel sniffed the vile carefully. "It's demon, old," he furrowed his brows, "I can't tell for sure, but I would guess that it is. I think Crowley wants to kill Dick, even just to keep more humans around."

"Great, so we're relying on a demon and the guess of a fallen angel slash Trickster." Dean grabbed the vile back. "Love those odds." He set the vile on the table beside the bone.

"What did Crowley mean about getting messy?" Sam had seen Gabriel react to the words like he knew something they didn't.

He shrugged. "Aren't deaths always messy?" He smiled. "But, I do have some trouble to make. Have fun boning Dick." With a suggestive eyebrow rise, he disappeared.

They mixed Gabriel's and the vampire's blood and Sam was holding Crowley's to add. Dean and Cas stood by him, with the notes Kevin made in hand. "One thing's for sure," Dean was reading over the part about the weapon, "we've only got one shot."

"Yeah, hopefully Gabriel is right." Sam opened the container and poured in the blood with the rest. He put the empty vile back on the table and picked up the bowl of blood. "Okay, do we…?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. There's no magic words, nothing. Just go."

Sam shrugged and tipped the bowl over the bone. He coated it with all the blood they had and then they waited. Nothing happened. Dean raised a hand. "Where's all the thunder and lightning?"

Sam and Cas both shrugged. "Maybe it worked?" Sam bit his lip in worry. Like Dean said, they only had one shot at this.

They packed up and hoped that everything worked out. The sun had just set when they pulled up outside Sucrocorp. Sam had his laptop open and was hacking into the security cameras. His screen lit up with the footage. "Thank you, Charlie, wherever you are."

Cas leaned forward from the backseat to watch the screen as Sam clicked through the cameras. He stopped when they saw a conference room where Dick was leading a presentation. Dean shook his head. "Gotcha, Dick."

"That's the second floor." He clicked to see Dick's office. "His office is a few floors up, so," he clicked to see the lobby, "we need to get past them in front."

Sam glanced up and saw a blue truck pull up along the side of the road. He held up his binoculars to see who would be coming here in a truck at this time of night. A short woman wearing a pink uniform exited the truck. Sam saw something in her hand. He recognized her. "That's the maid from the motel."

Dean looked at her. "What motel?"

Sam could see ectoplasm running from her nose. "No, Bobby, what are you doing?"

"Wait, are you saying Bobby…"

"Just stay here." Sam was picking up his computer to get out of the car.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"You've got the weapon and eyes on Dick." He handed the computer to Dean. "You and Cas can handle it if something happens. I've got Bobby." He opened the door and got out of the car.

"Sam! Hey."

"Shut up." Sam closed the door and ran in the direction the woman was walking.

"Dammit!" Dean shook his head.

Sam caught up to her quickly and stopped her before she was revealed from behind a van. "Bobby, I know you're in there." The woman glared. "Listen to me. There are cameras everywhere," he pointed to the corner of the building over the van, "there's one right there. Stop, you're going to get her killed."

The woman shoved Sam hard enough to toss him back to the concrete. He pulled himself up quickly, making sure the camera hadn't seen him. "Bobby, dammit." He charged at the woman, keeping her back. "How are you gonna kill Dick, huh? You can't."

She pulled a small sword out of it's sheath in her hand. "Good enough for me." She slashed at Sam, making him stumble back and almost get caught by the camera.

He ran forward and pushed her back again. "No, I'm not letting you go."

"Get out of here, Sam."

"No." She dropped the sword and threw Sam into the van and closed a strong hand over his throat. He could feel his throat crushing under the inhuman grip. He gasped to no effect as Bobby pushed his head into the van painfully. "Bobby, stop." He held her wrists as tight as he could, but he felt his fingers going numb.

The woman seemed to catch her reflection in the van and Sam saw her eyes soften. "NO!" She fell back, releasing Sam and falling unconscious to the ground. Bobby had left her.

Sam picked up the woman as he gasped for air and took her to the car.

They had dropped off the woman at the hospital before heading back to the cabin to wait for another day. This problem with Bobby seemed to finally be needing a solution. They all knew what they had to do, but no one wanted to say it.

When the temperature dropped, they stilled. Bobby appeared by the window to their right. He had a mixture of shame and anger in his eyes.

"Bobby," the slight feeling of reassurance Dean used to get at seeing him had turned cold now and it made Dean sad, "we didn't know if you would be back."

"You should have. You've got the flask." He pointed to it on the table in front of Dean. "Dumb, you should have burned it right off."

"Bobby."

"I'm still jonesin' to go back, grab some poor bastard, kamikaze him going after Dick." He started shaking. "It's bad." He shook his head. "Let's be real," he looked at Sam, "I damn near killed you and that woman."

"It wasn't your fault, Bobby." Sam shook his head. "Not really."

"Right, that's just what ghosts turn into. I really bet the farm that I could outsmart that."

Dean stood from the couch. "So what's it feel like?"

"What, going vengeful?" Dean nodded. "It's an itch you can't scratch out." He looked at all of them and sighed tiredly. "Look, I'm done. Go get Dick, but don't do it 'cause you think it'll scratch the itch. Do it 'cause it's the job." He looked at Cas. "And when it's your time, go." He looked at Dean. "You know what you have to do."

They silently walked to the basement and Dean started a small fire. They looked at Bobby for the last time. He smiled. "Here's to running into you boys on the other side. Only, not too soon, okay?"

Dean turned the flask over in his hand. He needed to do this, he had no choice. Bobby deserved to rest. Cas walked up beside him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. Dean closed his eyes and dropped the flask into the flames.

Bobby sagged in relief before lighting up in gold light. The three of them watched silently as Bobby slowly lit up the room and disappeared. The flask had melted away completely.

Sam felt relieved that Bobby could finally rest. He left after a few minutes and after Dean had sat down beside the fire, Cas following him. Sam knew he would be okay with Cas.

Dean and Cas sat quietly together in the basement as the embers died from the fire. Nothing needed to be said. They had said their goodbyes to Bobby when his body died months ago.

Cas rubbed the back of Dean's neck. Dean relaxed into the touch. Cas could tell how upset Dean was, although he would never say it. He pulled Dean's head closer, touching their foreheads together. Only the small quiver of Dean's lips gave away his emotions. Cas scooted closer to him so that they were as close as possible.

Dean eventually gave in and fell into Cas's arms, circling him in a tight hug and resting his head in the crook of Cas's neck. Cas just held him close and let him grieve. His grip tightened into Cas's back and Cas could feel hot tears on his neck. He turned his head and kissed Dean's temple briefly. Cas has no idea how long they sat there together.

Dean decided, to the other's agreement, that they shouldn't wait anymore. They were going to kill Dick tonight. They packed the car again, two weapons in hand, Dean had a plan. One thing did make him cringe, though. "Gabriel! Come on, you have to be listening." He was standing outside by his car. "We need you to kill these bastards." Nothing. "Please?!"

Sounds of wings flapping behind him was Dean's only warning before Gabriel spoke. "Could you call me a little louder, Dean? I don't think all the angels heard you." He took a few steps toward Dean, irritation in his eyes. "Have you forgotten that I'm playing dead? I'd rather keep it at playing, but thanks for the invite."

"You're not leaving." Dean set his jaw in anger. "We need your help to get this done."

"I already helped you."

"Then finish the job. I promise, when this is over, you can be on your merry way."

Gabriel pouted his lips in thought before rolling his eyes in defeat. "Fine, what do you need me to do?"

Dean was driving the Impala down the road to Sucrocorp at a good 90mph. Sam was beside him while Cas and Gabriel sat in the back. They all knew the plan. Gabriel shook his head. "This is ridiculous."

The last word was cut short as Dean whipped his baby around a corner, crashing through the gate to the parking lot. The lone security guard gave chase. "If you bail now, we all die and the leviathans will take over. Is that what you want?"

Gabriel raised his eyebrows and gave him a bitchface that could rival Sam. Dean straightened the car out and slammed the pedal to the floor. They were going straight for the light-up sign for Sucrocorp. When Dean felt too close, he yelled, "NOW!"

In a blink, he and Cas were inside the building in an empty hallway. Sam should have been inside on a different floor. He was looking for Kevin. Dean and Cas were going for the boss. He heard the sounds of his baby smashing through the sign outside. Employees ran to the windows, some ran down the hall to join the shots he heard being fired outside. He didn't worry, Gabriel could take care of himself.

"Come on." He pulled Cas's sleeve as they walked down the hall. They made their way through offices and conference rooms. Dick was nowhere to be found.

It wasn't until they reached the lab that they found the leviathan. He was telling the lab tech about a promotion when Cas doused him in cleaner and Dean sliced through his neck. Dick turned with a curious expression. He looked at the headless man on the floor.

"Little abrupt, but okay. Castiel," he smiled at him, "good to see you again. Thanks for the ride into Paradise." Dean pulled out the bone with blood on it. "Good on you, pulling that together. A+."

"Oh," Dean stepped forward and over the body on the floor, "you don't think this will work, do you? You trust that demon?"

"Do you?"

"Here's the thing with Crowley: he will always find a way to bone you."

Dick smirked. "This meeting's over." He moved forward. Cas shoved Dean back and stepped between Dick and Dean. Dick grabbed Cas's jacket and tossed him across the room and into the boxes of beakers stacked against the wall.

When Dick turned back around, Dean stabbed him with the bone in his hand. He lodged it in place before stepping back. Dick hardly flinched before pulling the bone out and snapping it in half. "Did you really think you could trump me?"

"Honestly," Dean pulled his jacket back to reveal the other half of the bone he had just used, covered in the real blood, "no."

Cas had picked himself up and grabbed Dick by the hair. He pulled his head back, exposing his neck for Dean. Dean stabbed him through the neck with the bone. Dick gurgled with eyes wide in shock. "I figured we'd have to catch you off guard."

Sam busted through the door with Kevin right behind as Dean stepped back from Dick. The leviathan's true face screamed and flashed as Dick bled black ooze. Sam was relieved, at least this seemed like it would work.

Then, the air around Dick started to pulsate out, reaching Dean and Cas. They backed up a little, but seemed transfixed. Dick smiled.

"GET BACK!" Gabriel appeared beside Dean, shoving him hard enough to bounce off Sam. Cas was thrown next, getting caught by Dean. "GET OUT!" Gabriel tried to fly off, but Dick grabbed the angel's arms.

The pulsing air quickened and Dick laughed. Sam pushed Kevin out the door and pulled Dean and Cas out. Cas pulled against his grip. He wanted to help Gabriel. The archangel shook his head when Cas met his eye.

"Welcome home, angel." Dick whispered to Gabriel before laughing again and exploding in a ball of black ooze. It covered all the walls in the lab.

When the flying ooze settled, Gabriel and Dick were gone. "No." Cas pushed the doors open and ran inside.

"Cas." Dean followed.

Cas stopped over the spot Dick and Gabriel had been standing. His eyes were wide and he shook his head.

"Cas," Dean touched his arm, "what is it?"

"We should go." A terrified Kevin called from the hallway. Sam was standing in the doorway.

"What happened?" Sam asked from the safety of the threshold.

"More chompers any second, Sam." Kevin was looking for all the possible ways those monsters could attack next.

"Not to worry." Crowley appeared beside Cas and Dean. "I have a small army of demons outside. Cut off the head and the body will flounder, right? It seems all the other levis have perished."

"What happened to Gabriel?" Dean turned to face him.

Crowley shrugged. "That bone has a bit of a kick. God weapons often do. They should put a warning on the box." He leaned around to look at Cas. "Or hubby here could have warned you."

Cas snapped out of his daze and flipped on Crowley. He lunged forward and managed to knock the demon off his feet, mostly by surprise. "This shouldn't have happened! He wasn't supposed to…"

Crowley popped out of Cas's grip and stood behind him. "Stop being such a martyr, Cas, my God. He did you a favor. Think of where you would be right now if he hadn't swooped in and saved you."

"Bring him back." Cas gritted out the words through his teeth.

"Sorry, I can't." He snapped his fingers. Two demons appeared beside Kevin.

"No!" Sam reached out for him, only to be pushed away by the demons. "Let him go."

"No, the prophet is mine."

"If you take him," Cas narrowed his eyes and moved into Crowley's personal space, "I swear on everything that we will find you and kill you and everyone associated with you. The prophet stays with us. He gets to go home and you get to live."

"When you're just a human, that threat doesn't scare me, sweetie." Crowley put a hand on him to push him away. Cas pulled Ruby's knife from his jacket and held it against Crowley's throat.

"It should." Cas was angrier than Dean had ever seen him. "Let him go, or I kill you now."

"Is that wise?" He sounded the same, but Crowley's eyes were a little nervous. "My boys here will kill all of you if you do that."

Cas shrugged. "Then I guess we all die, or we all live, you choose."

Crowley huffed a short laugh. "Wow, you haven't changed much have you?" Cas pressed the knife into his neck. "Fine."

"Deal?" Crowley furrowed his brows. "I let you live and you let the prophet go and live out his life without any more trouble from any demons. You're also going to keep your distance from me and Sam and Dean."

"That's a lot of demands."

"How much is your life worth to you?" Cas pressed the knife again.

Crowley snarled. He wanted to refuse, but Cas was serious. He snapped his fingers and Kevin was free. Sam removed him from the room. "You gonna back off now?"

"Do we have a deal?" Crowley rolled his eyes. "Say it."

"Kevin Tran will not be hunted by demons of my control and neither will you or Sam or Dean." Cas didn't move. "What, you want to seal it?"

"I wouldn't trust you on just your word."

"If you wanted a kiss, Cas, you should have just asked." He laughed as Dean's face turned red.

"Cas, what kind of deal is this? Don't sell your soul here." Dean was boiling in anger. He wanted to cut that demon's throat open.

"Don't worry. I don't want that twisted soul Cas possesses anyway. This is not that kind of deal. We should do this quickly before I change my mind."

Cas tightened his lips and crashed his lips into Crowley's. He expected it to be short, but Crowley was who he was. The demon held Cas's head and deepened the kiss, pressing against the knife as he did.

Dean was glaring daggers at Crowley. He really wanted to say something, but Cas had it handled. When Crowley tried to go too far, Cas bit him sharply and the demon drew back.

"Feisty." He laughed at the anger of both men. "Are we good?"

Cas put the knife back in his jacket. "If I see your face…"

"Don't threaten violence, Cas. After a kiss like that, I might tempt you." He smirked.

"Just go away." Dean growled in anger. Crowley left them alone. "Was that necessary?"

"Dean, I'm sorry." Cas walked for the door. "We need to get out of here."

"Cas," he pulled his arm, stopping him, "why would you make that deal?"

"Kevin deserves a life. I didn't sell my soul, Dean."

"We can handle Crowley and his goonies."

"I saw a chance to end it and I took it. I know how to talk to Crowley, how to deal with him."

"Yeah, I see that." Dean would have the image of that kiss seared in his brain.

"Are you jealous?"

"No."

Cas moved in and pressed his lips to Dean's ear. "I'll make you forget all about that kiss later." He pulled Dean's shirt as he walked down the hall.

The dead bodies of the leviathans were scattered all over the building. They all really had died when Dick died. They were able to tow the Impala back to the cabin and return Kevin home with a promise that he would check in with them every couple days.

News of people all over the country all dropping dead for no reason at relatively the same time was the headline for weeks. The leviathans were really gone and the boys hadn't worked a job for over a week.

"So Cas, what did happen to Gabriel?" They were sitting around the table eating lunch when Sam couldn't keep wondering silently.

"The weapon pulled him in, taking him with Dick when he was killed."

"So, he ended up in the same place as Dick?" Cas nodded. "Which would be Purgatory, right?" He nodded again.

"We could have ended up in Purgatory?" Dean shuddered at the thought. Nothing but monsters and no way to really die. It would have been Hell all over again.

"Gabriel sacrificed himself to save us and he ended up right were he had been."

None of them would claim to liking Gabriel too much, but he didn't deserve to be damned to Purgatory either. None of them had a way to help him.

In the following weeks, Crowley kept up his deal. Kevin was safe and no demons messed with them. After the intense year of hunting, it was kind of nice to have some time off. But, like everything else in their lives, this wouldn't last forever.


	25. epiloguesequel intro

Author's Note: This is an epilogue to this story and the intro into the sequel. I'm working on the sequel now and it is getting almost as long as this one.

* * *

It had been two months since they had killed Dick and taken down the leviathans. Surprisingly, Crowley had also kept his distance. They hadn't dealt with a demon since then. They had worked some easy jobs recently, but usually one of them didn't have to go or they took on some jobs alone. It was strange for them after the whirlwind that the last year had been.

Dean didn't buy it as really being the end, though, he knew better. He still salted the doors and windows at night and devil's traps were at every door. The angel proofing was still up even though it seemed like the angels had retreated to Heaven after what had happened with the leviathans.

Rufus' old cabin was beginning to become a home for the Winchesters. They found themselves always coming back to it and with the time off they decided to maybe act like they lived there.

Cas was browsing on the internet one afternoon while Sam watched TV and Dean stared out the window. Cas had been watching him and finally asked him, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." He scanned the horizon, looking like he was waiting for a bomb to go off.

"Dean, you need to relax. We're fine. Why can't you just enjoy some down-time?"

"Because, we don't get down-time, Cas." He turned from the window. "We never catch a break or have vacations. When it seems like we are, something pops out of the shadows and tries to kill us or eat us. It's only a matter of time."

Sam snorted from the couch. "Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?"

"Sam, you know this better than anyone. Can you really tell me that I'm overreacting?"

Sam knew he was partially right, but he was being a little jumpy. "Yes, Dean. How about you act like something wants to kill you when something appears?"

Dean was about to respond when a light knock sounded on the door. He immediately pulled out his gun. "You were saying?"

"Dean," Sam stood up, rolling his eyes, "I doubt someone here to kill us would knock."

Sam looked through the peephole and frowned. He opened the door and didn't see anything. "Huh, that's weird." He was about to shut the door when he saw what he imagined was a package they had been delivered. "Uh…"

"What?" Dean raised his gun and moved past Sam. He followed his brother's look and nearly dropped his gun. "What the hell?"

Cas' interest was peeked. "What is it?" He stood on tiptoes to look over Dean's shoulder. What he saw was something that he never expected to show up at their doorstep. A small sleeping baby, wrapped in a pale pink blanket inside a basket was at their feet. A folded piece of computer paper was on top of the sleeping baby and all three of their names were written on it.

Sam looked up and down the driveway and street to see if he could catch who had left the baby. He didn't see a trace of anyone. Dean was staring at the baby like it would wake up and attack him. Cas looked lost.

"What should we do?" Cas looked at Dean, but the hunter was struck dumb.

Sam crouched and picked up the yellow tinted note on the baby. "Well, maybe this will tell us." He opened the page and three more folded pieces fell out. They each had a square with their name on it. Sam left them in the basket for now. "Come on." He lifted the infant slowly and brought it inside.

After setting the basket on the table, Sam read from the page. "Sam, Dean, Castiel, I know how much of a surprise this will be, but I want you to know that you can handle this. This little girl is in your protection. She is Dean and Cas' child." Sam's mouth stopped working after reading those words. He looked at the couple, looking for an explanation.

Dean and Cas shrugged. They were as clueless as Sam. Sam looked back to the note and continued. "I know what you're thinking. 'How the hell is this possible?' Right? I have enclosed notes for each of you to further explain what's happening and you should read them alone and use the knowledge however you wish.

"I can tell you all this: this child is Dean and Castiel's genetic offspring. 'But, they're both boys, what?' I know, but I have my ways of making things happen for those that deserve them. She is a Nephilim, technically. Her soul is made up of Cas' grace and her body is formed from Dean and Cas' current human genetics. She is more human than angel, but she will be powerful and unique.

"She has spent the last six months being raised by me in Heaven, most of the time. With the death of the leviathans, I wanted to give you a gift. Raise her, teach her everything you know, and above all, love her. She is yours, a Winchester. She does still need a name, which I leave to her parents."

Sam had to tilt his head to read the small font of the typed message at the bottom. "By the way, I provided you with all the appropriate legal documents for, you know, if you wanted her to have a real life or go to school or whatever. Good luck, boys."

The silence after that was pressing. Sam was looking at the note again as if it would change and tell him that it was all a dream or a joke. Dean stared intently at the table and Cas stared at the baby in fear.

"So," Sam put the note on the table beside the basket, "uh…I guess we…uh…" Sam looked at the others helplessly.

None of them had any idea what they should say or do. This had come so far out of left field and none of them were prepared to handle something like this. They all watched the baby stir in the basket. She rubbed her eyes with the back of a small hand.

"Who did this you think?" Sam looked at Dean and Cas. "An angel or what?"

"No." Cas kept his eyes on the small child as she shifted in the blanket. "Only one person had my grace." Sam raised his brows expectantly. "God."

"God?" Sam sounded doubtful. "How can you be sure of that?"

"Who else could make a child like this?"

Dean finally exploded into the conversation. "Cas, we don't even know if this really is what the note claims." He pointed to the page on the table. "It could be some demon messing with us, or some human who dropped the baby off."

"The notes have our names on them, Dean." Sam pointed out, a little confused by Dean's sudden anger.

"The last baby we picked up was a shifter, Sam. You remember that?"

"Yeah, but…"

"How do we know this isn't something similar?"

"Maybe you should read this?" Cas picked up the small note with Dean's name on it. "It could explain."

Dean snatched the small page away with a glare. He opened it with enough force to almost tear the thin paper. His eyes scanned a few lines before widening in shock. His mouth fell open slightly.

"Dean, what does it say?" Cas reached out to turn the paper but Dean pulled away. With a shake of his head, Dean dropped the page on the floor and stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door on his way out. "Dean!" Cas ran to follow and caught sight of the Impala in time to see it backing down the gravel driveway.

Cas turned around and saw Sam picking up the note before folding it back up. He closed the door, wondering how long Dean would be gone. Sam slipped Dean's note back into the one he had read. "You don't want to see what's on it?"

Sam shook his head. "If he wanted us to know, he would have stayed." Sam picked up his own and opened it. He read it silently as Cas moved back to the table to look at the baby, his baby.

She was still sleeping and Cas' heart warmed at the sight. He reached a hand out tentatively, lightly brushing the small bit of light brown hair hanging close to her eyes. She made a noise at the touch and leaned her small face into it.

She seemed so fragile, Cas was afraid to touch her. He knew that she was practically invincible, but right now she looked like a helpless baby. He glanced up at Sam as he read his note. Tears glistened in his eyes and he wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

When Sam had finished his note, he looked up and smiled. "You're right, Cas." He turned happy eyes to him. "It was God."

"You're sure?"

Sam nodded. "Here," he held out his note, "read it."

"No," Cas shook his head, "it's meant just for you."

"It's okay, really."

He insisted until Cas took the note from him and looked at it.

_Sam,_

_I know how much you have suffered this year. I know how much you have been through your entire life, and I want to apologize for all of it. The fact that you have always pulled through and remained sane and the same beautiful person that you are is a testament to your strength and character._

_You deserve a better life, Sam. I could give that to you, but I know you wouldn't take it because you need your brother just as much as he needs you. This baby is as much a gift for you as it is to Castiel and your brother. You all deserve something more, something better. I have faith that with you as another guardian, this girl will always make the right decisions, and even if she doesn't, who better to teach her that mistakes don't have to define us or destroy us?_

_I knew that Hell and even Lucifer himself could never fully break you. You are stronger than you get credit for, even if you don't believe it. I can promise you this: you will never know suffering like that ever again. You have more than paid for your mistakes, Sam. All I want for you is to go try for some of that normal life you want so badly._

_[P.S. I'm pretty sure Sarah remembers you and is single. ;) ]_

Cas laughed lightly at the small winking smiley. He handed the note back to Sam. "That didn't really explain the baby much, but…" Cas shrugged and saw Sam smile.

"Read yours." Sam lifted his up.

Cas hesitated. "I will, later." He looked back at the baby, she was moving more. Cas rested a hand on her forehead lightly. She cracked open her eyes and smiled. Her eyes were wide and just as blue as Cas'.

Sam stood behind Cas and smiled at the baby. "Wow, look at those eyes." He lowered a finger to touch her hand. She tightened a strong grip on him, making him wince. "Ow." He pulled his hand back, she just laughed.

Her looks seemed to mainly come from Dean, except the blue eyes. Cas rubbed her head gently as she squirmed and smiled. The pink blanket was falling loose around her as she moved, revealing a white gown underneath.

"You wanna hold her?" Sam figured maybe Cas wasn't sure exactly how to handle a baby.

Cas pulled his hand back and shook his head. "I should probably call Dean and find out what's going on." He took out his phone and turned away from the child. Dean didn't answer. "Dammit." He stared at his phone, wishing that Dean wouldn't do this right now. He needed his help. He can't just run from everything when it scares him.

Sam had picked up the baby and was cradling her in his arms when Cas turned around. She was reaching up for his hair that was dangling dangerously close to her deceptively strong hands. Sam just smiled and rocked her. He looked up when Cas turned to him. "No luck?"

Cas shook his head. "No."

"He'll come back, Cas. He's just processing."

"Yeah," Cas stepped up to watch as the baby giggled and took hold of a chunk of Sam's hair, "I just wish he could do that here." Cas helped Sam detangle his hair from the infant's grip.

"Here." Sam held her out for Cas. "She's your daughter after all, you need to hold her at some point."

Cas lifted his arms and stepped back. "I don't know…"

"Come on, Cas. It's not hard. Hold out your arms."

Cas did as instructed and Sam placed his daughter in his arms. Sam made sure that Cas had a good hold before letting go and stepping back. The baby looked between the two men briefly before smiling at Cas and curling her little fingers into his jacket. Cas couldn't have stopped the smile that spread across his face if he had wanted to.

Dean needed to be here for this. If he didn't show up soon, Cas would never let the man see his daughter.


End file.
